Guardian of Vegetasei
by LPphreek
Summary: Following an ancient prophecy, the Supreme Kai gives Vegeta a chance to redeem himself and go to heaven when he dies. However, redemption won't be easy as it must be accomplished through the lives of the restored saiyans.
1. Prophecy

Prophecy

_Out of an extinct race will rise two warriors  
One a pure-hearted defender of justice  
One a bloodthirsty seeker of power  
They will fight side-by-side to save the universe  
One fighting to save for the sake of love  
One fighting to save for pride and honor  
The first will walk into eternity  
The second will end his life in peace_

_The race from which these warriors came will be restored  
They will rise to defend the universe from evil  
Under the guidance of the last survivor  
He will be redeemed of his transgressions  
And will be allowed to rest in peace at last_

The Supreme Kai rolled the ancient scroll and reverently returned it to its place in the prophetic archives. He sighed, knowing exactly what this one meant. One of his ancestors, generations ago had written this prophecy and it was his duty to see that it was fulfilled. None of them were set in stone; no, it was the responsibility of each Supreme Kai to set them into motion when the time was right. Failure to do so could have dire consequences for the universe.

"It seems it is time to visit an old friend," he said lightly as he approached his elder, who was sitting under a tree reading his favorite comic book. His mood didn't match his tone, but he was determined to convince himself what he was about to do was, in fact, a good decision.

The elder kai looked up from his comics with a sly smile. "Well, you'd better hurry up if you're going to go through with this. He's just died and King Yemma will condemn him soon."

The younger kai's eyes bulged when he heard that piece of information. "He's dead? Oh, no! I'm going to be too late!" Without another word, he disappeared, only to reappear in front of King Yemma's table just as the one in question was stepping up to be judged.

"Next!" King Yemma shouted, not noticing the commotion down below.

The Supreme Kai closed his gaping mouth after a few seconds, regaining his composure before speaking to the man standing in front of him with an impatient expression on his angular features. "You – you still have your body!"

"How observant," came the predictable snide remark. "Have you come all the way here just to tell me what I already know?"

Kibitoshin groaned quietly and slid his hand down across his face. He knew dealing with the last prince of the saiyans was not going to be much fun. Despite having the ultimate authority over the entire universe, the _dead_ mortal still wouldn't show him the proper respect. And sadly, he didn't have the power to put the saiyan in his place. He just wasn't strong enough.

"Yes, well," he said before clearing his throat to start fresh, "I've come to tell you that you are being granted a new life. Actually, you will be made immortal as you are to be the guardian of the new Vegeta-sei."

Vegeta's eyebrow raised as his arms crossed over his chest. He resented not being given a choice in the matter. He decided long ago that he did not want to be immortal as he had when he was still a young man. He welcomed death, even if it meant going to hell, so he would not have to suffer alone anymore. Now here he was, being thrust into a position he did not ask for and wasn't sure he wanted. Besides, what new Vegeta-sei? His planet was destroyed almost three centuries ago along with the rest of his race. Every saiyan was dead now that he had died.

"And what makes you think I'll accept this offer?" he asked tersely.

"What is going on down there?" King Yemma growled, leaning over his table to see what the hold-up was. He did not appreciate anyone holding the line up. When he saw who was standing there, though, he immediately found a new supply of patience. "Supreme Kai! What brings you to this part of Otherworld?"

Kibitoshin turned to look up at the giant god and gestured toward Vegeta as he replied, "This one is not going to stay here, King Yemma. I am personally giving him an immortal life so that he may become a guardian of his own planet."

King Yemma was flabbergasted when he saw who the Supreme Kai was talking about. He would _never_ forget that soul, no matter how many millennia passed. "Vegeta?" he bellowed.

"Yes, and I will need a list of all the saiyans in hell so that some may be revived to populate Vegeta's planet," Kibitoshin continued.

Vegeta growled and grabbed the kai by his collar and pulled him down to eye level. "Look here, kai," he spat angrily, "I do not want to be a guardian of anything. Just let me go to hell and leave me alone!"

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that. A prophecy written by one of my ancestors clearly states that _you_ will be the guardian of your warrior race. You _will_ be its guardian and you _will_ teach your people to fight for justice, thereby redeeming yourself so that you can go to heaven when you are ready," Kibitoshin stated firmly. He pulled himself free of the shocked saiyan and took a step back, smoothing out his rumpled clothes.

The saiyan looked down at his hands and then back up at the kai standing in front of him. His eyes softened considerably as he nodded dumbly. "I will be allowed into heaven?" he asked softly.

The Supreme Kai was astounded by the vulnerability the saiyan showed. He could tell he had changed greatly over the years since they last met. He was still hot-headed, stubborn, and proud, but he was able to express some emotion without immediately covering it. Maybe there was hope for him, after all, if he could go from threatening to docile so quickly. Perhaps he had greater control over himself than he originally displayed.

"Yes, Vegeta," Kibitoshin said, "After you have redeemed yourself through your people, you will be allowed to go to heaven for eternity."

"Bulma…"

Kibitoshin smiled when he heard the whispered name of the saiyan's lover who died over two hundred years earlier. Indeed, there was hope for this blackened soul if he was able to love another so strongly. He knew that after the Buu fiasco Vegeta had changed, even being considered good enough by the Namekian dragon Porunga to be restored to life a second time. Now it was time for the proud prince to complete his transformation so he could be reunited with his loved ones forever.

"Come," Kibitoshin commanded gently, "Let us journey to your new planet. I will bring your people soon, after I have chosen them based on their behavior in hell. I must tell you this now, though: You are not to let them know who you are. You must guide them not as their monarch, but as their guardian. Do you understand?"

Vegeta shrugged and looked away. He knew he should be filled with pride. His race, his elite warrior race, was being restored! He would be their guardian, able to watch over them and see them grow into a great empire once again. But all he could think about was the length of the wait before he could see Bulma. It would take centuries to make up for his sins. His hands were covered in the blood of billions of lives. Still, he was determined to redeem himself, no matter how long it would take, so that he could finally be with her again. He didn't care what rules he had to follow to obtain his goal.

"Where exactly is this new Vegeta-sei?" Vegeta asked after a few minutes.

"Exactly where the old one was," Kibitoshin answered as he put his hand on the saiyan's shoulder, ready to teleport them to the planet. "It was made to be an exact replica of the old."

Hardly before the last word of his sentence was uttered, they found themselves in a new location. It was nighttime on a planet with a higher gravity than where they had just been. The air was balmy and filled with the sweet scents of desert flowers. Overhead was a black, velvety blanket speckled with thousands of shining stars and two glowing moons. Vegeta immediately recognized the constellations he hadn't seen since he was a young boy and had to fight back tears.

"I'm really home," Vegeta mumbled to himself as he looked around. Home. That was a word he hadn't used since Frieza destroyed it three hundred years ago.

"Welcome to the new Vegeta-sei, Kami," Kibitoshin said warmly as he stepped back to allow the saiyan to reacquaint himself with the planet he hadn't seen since he was five years old. As he spoke, he ignited new life in the prince's dead body, restoring him to his perfect, youthful form.

Vegeta turned to see the kai, a faint but sincere smile on his lips. His eyes gave all the thanks the kai needed before he turned again and gazed up at the clear night sky, hardly able to believe it was real. If Bulma were there, he would have thought he already was in heaven. His tail twitched behind him slowly as he lost himself in his memories.

_A/N: This is sort of a trial chapter for an idea I have. You might consider my short story "Our Fate" to be a prequel to this. What do you think? Should I go ahead and write this story?_


	2. Revival

Revival

It may have been minutes or hours that passed before Kibitoshin broke the immortal saiyan's silent reverie. "Vegeta, I am going to return to Otherworld and choose the saiyans who will be revived and brought here to restart your race."

Vegeta nodded, never turning his gaze from the stars above. "May I make a request?" he asked so quietly the Supreme Kai was unsure if he heard the question at all.

"What is it?"

This time, Vegeta did turn, his ebony eyes burning with the intensity of his emotions. His lips curled in a smirk as he replied, "Bring back Nappa and Raditz. I owe them their lives."

Kibitoshin nervously rubbed the back of his neck as he considered granting the saiyan's request. 'Even if they haven't been on their best behavior in hell,' he reasoned, 'it would be another step toward Vegeta's redemption to bring them back. After all, he made the request as a means of righting his wrongs. Still, can I disregard their behavior for his sake?' With a heavy sigh, Kibitoshin nodded and gave a weak smile to the new guardian.

Satisfied, the tension in Vegeta's shoulders visibly relaxed. With tail swinging thoughtfully behind him, he started walking aimlessly, ready to explore his planet. He didn't know if he would ever have such an opportunity again. After all – "Am I going to stay down here, or am I to live on a Lookout?" he asked glumly as he levitated a few yards off the ground.

"I will create a Lookout for you," Kibitoshin answered. He watched the saiyan with a sort of respect he hadn't been previously aware of. He realized that he was truly happy to see the prince able and willing to seek redemption so he wouldn't have to be condemned to hell. After he gave his reply, he saw Vegeta's shoulders slump a little and knew he wasn't terribly happy about being confined to a lonely palace far away from saiyan contact. He would hardly even be able to enjoy his planet. "I know it's a little unorthodox, but I think I could permit you leaving the Lookout, so long as you conceal your identity."

"Good enough," Vegeta mumbled, mostly to himself. Then, with a dismissive wave of his hand, he turned away from the Supreme Kai. "Now go, bring the saiyans from hell so we can get on with this."

Grumbling under his breath about the disrespectful saiyan guardian, Kibitoshin watched until he disappeared over the horizon as he flew away. "What did I expect, for him to grovel at my feet in gratitude for this opportunity?" he asked himself sardonically. With a chuckle and curt shake of the head, he returned to Otherworld to find the best saiyans to bring to life.

When the Supreme Kai appeared in hell, he found himself instantly surrounded by a multitude of saiyans. Apparently, word had spread that he would be coming to grant some of them a new life on their own planet. He pulled out the list King Yemma had given him of the saiyans and started checking to see which ones would be most suitable for Vegeta's new people. He frowned when he saw that the vast majority of them were still causing trouble even after death. He chalked it up to their natural bloodlust with a helpless shrug as he folded the list up and turned his gaze to the saiyans, all looking eager to be granted a second chance.

Kibitoshin cleared this throat and yelled out, "Nappa and Raditz, come forward." He waited as the two enormous men – one bald and one with knee-length spiky hair – shoved their way through the crowd of saiyans. They stood proudly at his side, smirking smugly at the rest of their people. Kibitoshin tried to ignore their arrogance as he then made his way through the thousands of gathered saiyans, hand-picking the rest of the ones chosen to be given life. In the end, he had a total of 600 saiyans, the number evenly split between males and females.

As he prepared to transport them all to Vegeta-sei, the Supreme Kai was stopped by a heavy hand on his shoulder and a deep, authoritative voice from behind. "Wait, please," the voice implored, "What of my son?"

The Supreme Kai turned and had to tilt his head back to look into the dark eyes of a saiyan who looked exactly like Vegeta except for a lighter coloring and a beard. He instantly recognized him to be King Vegeta, the last king of the saiyans slaughtered mercilessly by Frieza.

"Your son is not here, Vegeta," Kibitoshin answered coolly. He did not want to give away the fact that the prince was now guardian over Vegeta-sei.

King Vegeta growled and crossed his arms over his chest. "I know that, but where is he? I know he's surely died by now. Will he not be given a chance to live again?"

Kibitoshin shook his head, but smiled slyly. "He has died, yes, but he has not been sent to hell. There are much greater plans for him, do not worry."

The king searched the kai for any signs of deceit but was unable to find any. Finally, after a few tense moments of silence, he nodded slowly and took a few steps back, bowing his head. "Forgive my insolence," he mumbled as he disappeared into the endless ranks of saiyan soldiers.

The kai watched him go with some pity. He was one of the few who knew how deeply the king cared for his son. He knew how it hurt the dead king to remain ignorant of his son's fate, but he could not risk telling the secret. Still, he managed a sad smile as he lost sight of the king. Strangely enough, he had been one of the most well-behaved saiyans in hell. If any deserved a new life, it was King Vegeta. But Kibitoshin was worried about Vegeta's reaction to his father being brought back to life. Callous as he made himself out to be in regard to his father, Kibitoshin knew that he would be unable to keep himself emotionally distant. And so, he had no choice but to leave him in hell. With a soft sigh, he turned away from the rejected saiyans.

"Alright," the Supreme Kai shouted to all the saiyans chosen to go with him, "Just put your hand on your neighbor's shoulder and we'll be on our way to Vegeta-sei. Oh, and just a heads up, your memories of your past lives will be lost when you are given new life." He heard some grumbling amongst the saiyans, but ignored it as he waited for them all to make a connected chain so he could transport them to their new home.

Vegeta stopped in his flight around the globe when he felt hundreds of high power levels suddenly appear in a different location. He stared wide-eyed in the direction he felt it coming from, his tail slowly twitching back and forth behind him. He swallowed hard and lowered himself to the ground, hardly noticing the tall grass that reached his shoulders. He raised his hands and looked at them, disgusted by the way they were trembling. "So it's really happening," he whispered. He clenched his hands into fists and blasted off into the sky, eager to see his people, even if he couldn't speak with them.

Kibitoshin glanced up when he felt the saiyan guardian flying overhead, wary of what the unpredictable man might do. When he felt Vegeta stop and remain too high to see, he let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding and returned to the task at hand: igniting new life in the saiyans and simultaneously wiping away their memories. They would still be able to fight and function as adults, but they would not remember each other or their previous lives. When all was said and done, Kibitoshin bid them farewell and disappeared, only to reappear again next to Vegeta, who was watching over them from above.

"Here are your people, Vegeta," he announced, knowing it was redundant. "They do not remember anything of their past lives anymore. They're starting fresh under your guidance. I'll create your Lookout now, and then I'll leave you to your duties."

"Very well," Vegeta grunted. "But I do not know what I am allowed to do or not do aside from telling them who I am."

"We'll discuss that at the Lookout," Kibitoshin assured the saiyan. He raised his hand and bright beams of light appeared in the sky, darting to and fro as they outlined the contours of Vegeta's palace. When it was finished, Vegeta had to marvel at its resemblance to the Lookout of Earth. It was almost familiar, which was comforting in a way.

With one more glance down at the saiyans who were now roaming about below, Vegeta flew to the top of the Lookout and landed on the smooth, polished tile floor. Kibitoshin joined him a few seconds later and surveyed his craftsmanship with pride. It was a palace fit for a king. Or a god.

"These are the basic rules," Kibitoshin started, "First, you cannot interact with the people. However, you may personally train individuals and, as I have already told you, you are allowed to visit them so long as you keep your distance. Second, you can not directly intervene in their affairs. For example, if there is a battle between the saiyans and another race, you are not allowed to fight on their behalf."

Vegeta scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest and paced with his tail flicking behind him in agitation. "So what you're saying is, my job is to stand up here doing nothing but watching them? How the hell does that redeem me?"

The Supreme Kai continued as if he hadn't been interrupted, "You may guide them by communicating to them through dreams, visions, or telepathy. You may also bring judgment upon them if they step out of line, but you must use discretion. I know you would like to lead them more directly, but that is not your job, Vegeta. You are not their prince anymore. You are their guardian. You'll figure out what to do."

"And what happens if these rules are broken?" Vegeta asked, his fingers rapping against his bicep as he started losing control of his irritation.

Kibitoshin knit his brows as he fixed his gaze on the saiyan. "You could lose your position as guardian, thereby conceding your chance for redemption." When Vegeta made no reply, the kai decided all his questions had been answered. It was time for him to return to Otherworld, leaving Vegeta to his business. "I must go now, Vegeta. I will keep close tabs on you, so if you have any concerns I will be able to address them."

Vegeta nodded once but remained facing away from the Supreme Kai. He felt Kibitoshin's ki dissipate and knew he was gone. He sighed and rubbed his hand across his face. Here he was, guardian of his own people, unable to lead them. He was frustrated with the hand fate dealt him. He wouldn't even be stuck in this stupid position if things had been different from the start. If only he hadn't been given away as a small boy, he never would have become a soldier in Frieza's army and wouldn't have murdered countless people.

He snorted and shook his head. "Who am I kidding?" he asked the empty Lookout. "Even had I not been Frieza's slave, I would have been sent to hell. I still would have murdered and waged war against who knows how many civilizations. I was born a saiyan. That in itself was enough to condemn me."

Shrugging, he walked to the edge of the Lookout and sat with his feet dangling over the edge. He didn't feel like exploring his new home. Frankly, he didn't care what it had to offer. He didn't care that he was a god and he didn't care that his people were down below, trying to figure out how to live again. All he cared about was somehow, someday being reunited with Bulma. It was worth all the trouble just to hold her in his arms again.

_A/N: Thanks to those who were in favor of this story. I think it's going to be an interesting one to write. I probably won't update this one very quickly since I'm still trying to work out the plot and I like to know where I'm going before I dive into a story._

_And remember, kids: all reviews are encouraged!_


	3. Friendly Visit

Friendly Visit

Decades passed with Vegeta watching over the saiyans. He saw them pair off as mates and reproduce, he saw them grow in numbers until they broke apart into tribes, and then packs within the tribes. Even if they had no memory of their own previous lives, they still clung to the old saiyan culture and instincts. That relieved him, for he had feared at first that they would differ from the saiyans he knew, and then he would have no idea what to expect from them.

He hated that he was all alone, and often wondered why he didn't get a servant like the Earth guardian. Where was _his_ genie who could cook a delicious meal fit for a saiyan? But it was just a passing thought he brushed aside when he realized how ridiculous it was. What hurt the most was seeing his people living, fighting, and growing under his watchful eye while he couldn't so much as talk to them. Not directly, anyway. Years he spent dreaming how it would be if his proud race were revived. Now here it was, and he was stuck on the sidelines wishing he could participate in the game of life.

It took nearly fifty years for the saiyan population to double, but after that it grew more rapidly. Still, it would take many more years before there would be as many saiyans as there were when Frieza slaughtered them. Vegeta wasn't much interested in their mating patterns, though. Even if he had the ability to look in on them and make sure they were doing it, he had no desire to do so. He was satisfied with the results when he saw saiyan cubs running around. All was well with the world, it seemed.

The saiyans had only primitive technology, as they hadn't been given any when they were revived. They didn't even have the armor and scouters they died with, let alone the space pods that allowed for intergalactic travel. For Vegeta, it was as if he were watching his ancestors as their society grew and evolved over time. While he had always been proud of his race's history, it was exceedingly dull to watch it play out before him. It took way too long. But there wasn't much he could do to speed the process up. And so he watched, year after year, never really needing to intervene in their lives.

Vegeta sighed with boredom as he sat down on the edge of his floating palace as he did every day and focused his attention on his people. There were a few with ki levels above the others, and as predicted, they were the ones taking on leadership positions in their tribes. It could only be expected. Saiyan society was always centered around strength. As usual, there were countless fights going on when he searched for them. It brought a smile to his face to see them indulging in their instinctive drive for battle, even if only in small brawls and for sport.

"Perhaps it is time for another visit," he told himself as he watched the clouds drifting under him through the bright red sky. "It's been several months since I last left the Lookout."

While he knew none of the saiyans would recognize him, he was still wary about going down to them. He couldn't afford the risk of getting into a skirmish where he would undoubtedly come out victorious. They would become suspicious, news would spread about a loner with incredible power, and then they would try to hunt him down, or worse, make him leader of their tribe. Still, he was alive and he was a saiyan, which meant he could only stand isolation for so long. He was thankful that he had grown accustomed to it during his mortal life. First, when he was in Frieza's army, and then after his family died. Isolation never became pleasant, but it was endurable, at the very least.

"What I really need is a good fight," he grumbled as he looked down longingly, sensing dozens of frivolous fights occurring at any given moment. Even if he was allowed to fight with the saiyans – he still wasn't sure since he hadn't asked the Supreme Kai – he would easily overpower all of them. There wasn't a challenge to be had, and it was a challenge he craved. He sighed again, knowing the only one who could ever best him in a fight was gone, probably forever.

Vegeta swung his legs around and stood up. He'd done his job for the day, in his opinion. It wasn't as if the saiyans had progressed so far overnight that they needed to be constantly watched to make sure they wouldn't try taking over the universe with evil intent. He walked to the center of the spacious platform and lowered himself into his fighting stance to start his kata. Though he would probably never fight again, it was still in his blood. He trained daily, and even though the body he was given was perfect to begin with, he still made gains in power. Not that he would ever need such power. It was an old obsession, if anything. A compulsion. He couldn't stop training even as a god.

And so the day passed as every day before it did. He checked up on the saiyans, figured they could survive without him babysitting them, and trained until he could hardly move. Then he dragged himself to the kitchen, which must have had an endless supply of food, and made himself an enormous dinner. Cooking was not involved, aside from occasionally using a blast of ki to roast something. He had long forgone the luxury of cooked meals when he had to depend on himself for meals. Cooking was never his forte and he never cared to learn how to do it properly.

After eating, Vegeta strolled around the perimeter of the Lookout, again checking up on the saiyans. Nothing had changed from when he checked on them in the morning. It was almost disappointing. Boring, anyway. After making one circuit, he retired to his personal chambers where he crawled into bed, hugging a pillow tight as he fell asleep with memories of his mate running through his mind.

Like clockwork, he woke again in the morning at the same time he always did. He bathed, dressed, and went back out to the edge of the Lookout, sat down with legs hanging over the edge, and spent an hour watching over his people. He watched fights, saiyan cubs causing mischief, parents disciplining them, and the hunts. He loved watching them hunt. They made it an art form he never really knew. Sure, he could fell any beast, but not with the sharp skill these saiyans had acquired. He could feel their adrenaline pumping through their veins from the thrill of the hunt and practically taste the blood as they tore into the warm flesh of their kill. He longed to experience it with them, but he knew he never could. Just another passing thought.

When he was finished with his morning checkup, as he called it, he went and trained the day away all over again. He loved that his body had greater endurance than it ever had as a mortal and that he only needed to eat once a day, but still he couldn't wait to give it up and cross into Otherworld permanently.

"At least I can take comfort in the fact that this loneliness will one day end," he reminded himself as he wiped the sweat from his brow at the end of the day. He'd taken up the habit of talking to himself since there was no one else to talk to. Sometimes it bothered him because it was no more productive than simply thinking the same things he said, but it was nice to hear his own voice if he couldn't hear anyone else. Hell, he'd willingly listen to his mate screech at the top of her lungs all day long if he could. He was sick of being alone.

He was walking to the kitchen for his daily meal when he thought he felt a familiar ki nearby. He paused and turned to the side, waiting. "Could it be?"

Vegeta nearly jumped back when the most unexpected visitor he could ever have appeared right in front of him, but he somehow managed to retain his composure. He raised an eyebrow as he appraised the man standing before him, the same as he'd always been. Confident, relaxed, and so damned _cheerful_. Vegeta nearly cried in joy when he saw him.

"Hey, Vegeta!"

Vegeta slapped himself mentally for his sentimentality and smirked at his visitor as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, if it isn't Kakarrot. What brings you here?" he asked, trying to suppress the pure happiness of seeing his oldest rival and friend.

Goku grinned and rubbed the back of his head. Yes, he was the same as always. "Well, I was in the neighborhood and I thought I felt your ki. I couldn't believe it, I mean, what, it's been, what? Three hundred years since I've seen you? I thought for sure you'd have died by now, but I _knew_ it was you, somehow, so I came to see what's up."

Vegeta chuckled and shook his head. "I did die, about a century ago. But that blasted Supreme Kai had a job opening for a planet guardian and he seemed to think I was the best candidate."

The taller saiyan's eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he raised his hand to point a finger at Vegeta. "No way! You? A kami?" he asked.

"Can't believe it? Here's the real kicker. I'm guardian of Vegeta-sei."

"Huh? How is that possible? I thought it was destroyed!" Goku exclaimed. He ran to the edge of the Lookout and nearly fell over backward when he felt all the saiyan ki down below.

Vegeta shrugged and strode over to the edge next to Goku. "That's what I thought at first. But it was recreated and some saiyans were revived to start fresh, you could say. I'm their guardian as my penance for my old life. Through them, I will make up for all my wrongs and be allowed into heaven, eventually."

"You're not kidding!"

"Second chances are rare, Kakarrot. Third chances even rarer. But a fourth? I can't believe it myself, yet here I am. Guardian of Vegeta-sei. A god, no less. I have more power than I ever did as a mortal, yet I find this life barely tolerable." Vegeta's shoulders sagged as he sat down on the edge of the platform again. "I just want to be done with it already."

Goku sat next to him and wrung his hands in his lap. He knew what Vegeta wanted, and he hated that he could do nothing to help him achieve his goal. He looked down at the clouds and cleared his mind to sense the ki of the saiyans. Most of them were fairly weak. Maybe even weaker than Raditz had been when he fought him all those years ago. But a few were rather outstanding, with power levels around 10,000. There was potential there, for sure. They just needed to bring it out.

"What were you doing in this area of the universe, anyway?" Vegeta asked, breaking Goku out of his trance.

"Well, I'm immortal, so I spend my time traveling around the universe. You know, see what there is to see. Sometimes I find someone strong enough to fight with, but not very often. It's kind of disappointing," Goku answered, his voice trailing off in a mumble.

Vegeta snorted. "That's the trouble with being the most powerful being in the universe."

"You'd never know," Goku quipped.

The saiyan guardian laughed at that. It was a fact he had long since come to accept, so it no longer bothered him when someone brought it up. It used to make his temper flare faster than any other insult, but now it was nothing more than a joke to him. He'd been foolish to crave such power when he was younger. What would he have ever done with it? Rule the universe? That idea appalled him now. He knew he'd been stupid. Now he could look back on it and get amusement from his old, dead dreams.

He grew serious again after a minute. "Maybe I'll never be the strongest, but I'll always be the loneliest."

Goku frowned and turned to look at the other saiyan. "What do you mean?"

Vegeta shook his head. He got back up to his feet and started toward the entryway to the palace. He never meant to say that out loud. He'd really gotten used to voicing every thought before he could think twice about it since being alone for so long. He scoffed as he thought about how pathetic he was being. 'That's just great, the Guardian of Vegeta-sei is depressed. I'm acting like a weakling.'

Goku jumped to his feet and ran after Vegeta. "Hey, so how about a spar? I'm sure you could use a good fight! I mean, when's the last time you had one?"

The flame-haired saiyan stopped in his tracks and glanced over his shoulder. It was an inviting offer, but he was tired. He'd trained all day and never got his meal. And he would need all the energy he could get in a fight with Kakarrot. He shook his head. "Not today. Perhaps tomorrow, if you're still around."

The hopeful expression on Goku's face fell, but he was quick to accept the rain check. He grinned and nodded enthusiastically. "Sure thing, Vegeta!"

"Hn," Vegeta grunted as he disappeared into the kitchen. He pulled out enough food for two saiyans and used a controlled ki beam to cook the meat this time. He had a guest, after all. He wasn't surprised when the third class clown came in and instantly started salivating like a dog when he saw food being prepared. It wouldn't taste like any gourmet meal his harpy wife used to make, but it was edible, and that's all that mattered to him.

When their meal was finished an hour later, Vegeta showed Goku to one of the guest rooms deep in the palace before going to his own chambers. He was more tired than he cared to admit as he undressed and crawled into bed. He was worn out, not only from physical exertion, but from the overwhelming emotions he experienced when someone he thought he would never see again literally appeared out of nowhere to pay him a friendly visit. It was the first real contact he'd had with anyone in almost a century.

He clutched his pillow to his chest and sighed deeply, not from the weight of the burden of insufferable boredom, but from contentment. He knew Kakarrot wouldn't stick around. He never did settle in one place for long, but for whatever amount of time he was willing to stay on Vegeta-sei, he was welcome. Vegeta shoved aside thoughts of his friend, instead channeling his thoughts to memories of Bulma as he did every night so that in his dreams he could be with her.

_A/N: Another update! It's been a long time coming. And it's probably going to be another long time before the next update. I have a plot all worked out, but I'm having trouble filling it in. This is why I usually write a whole story first before posting._

_Anyway, please review! I really want some feedback on this one._


	4. Spar

Spar

"What're you doing out here?"

Vegeta turned his head when he heard the other immortal saiyan come up behind him and sit down on the edge of the Lookout next to him. He looked back down at the clouds below and shrugged. "Doing my job. Watching over the saiyans."

Goku looked down as well. There wasn't much to see. He closed his eyes and felt out the saiyans' ki all over the planet. Definitely no challenges down there if he were to get into a fight. He felt many of them spiking as they went into battle, but he soon figured out they were fighting each other and no one was getting seriously injured. He opened his eyes again.

"So you want to spar?"

Vegeta nodded but didn't say anything for a few minutes. "Soon. I have to make sure they're behaving themselves. I haven't had any trouble with them yet, but you know saiyans…"

Goku laughed and rubbed the back of his head. He didn't know much about saiyans in all honesty, but from what he learned about them – mostly from Vegeta – they were all about fighting and causing trouble. He stood up and stretched his arms over his head with an audible yawn. He got up really early that morning, woken up by the rise in Vegeta's ki when he awoke.

"So what's going on down there?" Goku asked when Vegeta stood up and walked toward him.

Vegeta shrugged again. "Nothing they haven't been doing for a few years. I can sense several of the strongest saiyans rising up as leaders in their tribes. So far the tribes are getting along relatively peacefully, but soon enough one of them is going to rise up as the ruling tribe over the rest. Then they'll establish a new monarchy and their civilization will start advancing more rapidly. At least, that's how it happened before."

"I see. I think I felt someone with a power a little higher than Nappa's was. Do you think that one will become king?"

"I certainly hope not," Vegeta said. "That fool is your great-nephew. He wouldn't know the first thing about leading the saiyan race."

Goku's eyes widened. "What? I have a great-nephew? How is that possible?"

"I asked for Raditz to be given a new life when the Supreme Kai brought the saiyans back from the dead to populate the planet. He mated, had three cubs, and they in turn mated when they came of age and had cubs of their own. One of them is the one whose ki you felt. He is exceptionally strong compared to the rest. Not surprising, considering his genetics."

Goku grinned and rubbed the back of his head. "Don't sound so happy about it."

Vegeta smirked and shook his head. He was long past being mad at Goku for the natural gift he was born with. It didn't matter anymore. He would always be second best, but at least he was still smarter and a better leader. That was something he would never be rivaled in, and as long as he had Goku's brawn at his disposal, they could win any battle they found themselves in. He was the tactician, Goku was the muscle. He shrugged and started stretching. He was looking forward to a good spar with his rival. It had been far too long since he got to fight with someone where he didn't have to pull his punches to avoid killing his opponent on accident.

"So, shall we ascend or not?" he asked as he finished his stretches.

Goku rubbed his chin as he thought about that. It _had_ been a very, very long time since he ascended beyond the first level of super saiyan. No one else in the universe could ever stand up against him when he went beyond that. But Vegeta, he could go as far as he could. And they never did test their strength against each other in the last transformation…

"Can you still go up to the fourth level?"

Vegeta's smirk broadened. "It has been a while, but I think I can still do it. The question is, have you gotten too rusty to ascend that high?" His left food slid back as he sank into his fighting stance.

"Let's find out," Goku replied.

Vegeta grinned evilly and the two saiyans simultaneously started raising their power levels. They screamed as their power soared to unimaginable heights, ascending through the first level of super saiyan, then the second.

"You ready to make the jump?" Goku taunted as his hair started growing longer until it reached the small of his back.

Vegeta took a deep breath and clenched his fists so tightly he thought he would draw blood from the palms of his hands. "Let's do it."

The saiyans roared as they pushed their ki even higher, their auras glowing blindingly bright around them as they continued their ascension. Vegeta's transformation was more difficult since he had to skip the third level, but before long both saiyans' hair darkened to raven black and flowed over their shoulders and they grew fur on their upper bodies, Vegeta's dark crimson and Goku's a deep scarlet.

Down below on the planet's surface, the saiyans took cover as a great windstorm swept over, blowing sand in a massive cloud that darkened the sky until it was like night. They had never seen such a drastic, unexpected change in the weather. Sandstorms were not uncommon, but they normally didn't happen so suddenly without warning. They took cover in their homes, but then the ground started shaking and they began to panic. Was the whole world falling apart? They had nowhere to run; outside they would be buried in the sand and inside they would be crushed if their roofs collapsed over them. All they could do was wait it out and pray it would end soon.

Vegeta laughed when he heard their pleas for the weather to calm down. He should have known that he and Kakarrot ascending so high would affect the planet below. But they had already come too far to stop now, so he pushed his power still higher until he felt like he was on fire with it. He knew the saiyans would be fine. Even if the roofs did fall down on them, they were strong enough to survive. And it would only be a couple more minutes…

Finally, Goku stopped screaming and his aura dwindled as his ki settled. He watched Vegeta as he too reached the peak of his power and his aura died down. Gold eyes met cobalt blue. They were ready.

"Well, shall we commence?"

Goku's excitement was readily evident as he nodded enthusiastically and sank into his own stance across from his greatest rival. "Are we going all out?"

"We can't kill each other. Do not dare pull any punches."

"You got it. This'll be good."

The two saiyans sized each other up, both eager to get started. It had been too long since either of them had a decent fight and it had been too long since either of them had ascended to the fourth level of super saiyan. This was the first time they got to fight each other in centuries and it was the first time they ever sparred as super saiyan fours. Both at their best, both immortal, it was a fight that could last a while.

They simultaneously nodded, marking the start of the spar, and flew toward one another. Goku drove his fist forward, but it only hit Vegeta's forearm with a powerful shockwave. Their faces were inches apart, snarls curling their lips. Vegeta brought his knee up, but it was met with Goku's leg with another shockwave. They smirked and broke apart, again appraising one another.

"Let's skip this silly warm-up routine," Vegeta taunted, readying himself for another attack.

Goku nodded once. "You got it."

He fired a ki blast at Vegeta, who jumped in the air to dodge it, and phased behind him. Vegeta phased behind him then and bicycle kicked him in the back and threw a barrage of ki balls at Goku as he flipped over. Some of them hit, but most of them exploded in the sky, brighter than the suns. While Vegeta was temporarily blinded by his own attacks, Goku phased behind him and caught him in a chokehold.

Vegeta could hear the voices of the saiyans below crying out in fear and confusion when they saw his ki exploding high in the atmosphere. In his mind's eye he could see the majority of the saiyan population running out of their homes and looking up at the sky, shock written clearly across their faces. His mind reeled as it was filled with their questions and their begging for safety from the strange events. He tried to block out their voices and focused on the problem he had on his hands: being choked.

He twisted around to face Goku and fired a ki blast into his chest at point blank range. His opponent flew back a few yards before he could stop himself and fire back. Vegeta blocked his attacks and charged forward with fist clenched and ready to strike. As he was about to hit Goku with an uppercut, his hand was caught. He immediately brought his other hand up to catch Goku's fist, leading to a clinching match between the two saiyans.

"I thought," Goku ground out through clenched teeth, "You said to skip the warm-up."

"I did. So fight!" Vegeta brought his knee up, but Goku blocked it again with his opposite leg. They repeated this routine a few times before they broke apart to start over.

"Why don't we turn it up a notch?" Goku asked, cupping his hands at his side.

Vegeta smirked when he saw the familiar blue glow in his rival's hands and spread his arms out and started gathering his own energy. "You read my mind."

"Ka…me…ha…"

"Fi…nal…"

"Me…"

"Flash!"

"Ha!"

The enormous blue beam of ki shot forward and met with the gold beam in the middle between the two saiyans. Both groaned with the effort of sustaining their attacks while they both poured more energy into them, trying to make the other give way. They weren't giving any quarters and neither beam made any headway for some time. The saiyans were sweating with the strain and still they refused to give even an inch.

Their fight came to a standstill as they held each other off for what felt like hours. Their arms were trembling with the ki flowing through them and they roared as they tried to force their ki forward. All they succeeded in doing was pushing themselves farther from the center with an increasingly large bulge where their beams met.

Both saiyans gave out at the same instant, releasing their attacks, which exploded in the middle and threw both of them back. They flew through the air, spinning head over heels as they went careening backward. Another shockwave followed the explosion, speeding their flights until they could only see a blur and became so dizzy they didn't know which way was up anymore. Miles passed under them and still they were unable to gain control. They couldn't tell how far they had gone, but they went far enough that they collided into each other as they each circled halfway around the globe.

The two saiyans yelped in pain when their heads smashed together and fell to the ground hundreds of feet below. They groaned when their bodies impacted with the ground and pushed themselves to their hands and knees, heads still spinning and throbbing as large goose eggs formed where they hit each other.

"Damnit, Kakarrot, what is your head made of?" Vegeta grumbled, his eyes watering as he gently prodded the growing lump on his head.

"Oh, you're one to talk," Goku shot back, tenderly rubbing his head and wincing in pain.

Vegeta mumbled a few choice words under his breath before flopping back to sit for a minute. "Are we going to continue this or what?"

"I don't know about you," Goku replied, "But I'm not starting again until I only see one of you." He followed the other saiyan's example and sat down, happy to have a short reprieve from their spar. It was fun, but he'd forgotten how much it could hurt when he actually had a worthy opponent.

After a few minutes Vegeta staggered to his feet and sank back into his fighting stance, ready for round two. Goku got up as well and soon they were at it again, punching and kicking with speeds high enough to start a whirlwind around them, faster than even a trained eye could see. They slowly ascended high into the air again, and by the time they reached their previous altitude they were both covered in cuts and bruises. Still they kept fighting, indulging in their adrenaline and the thrill of a real challenge.

"Fool!" Vegeta yelled once he struck Goku down, "You will not beat me!"

"Ha! That's what you always say," Goku shot back. He clenched his fists together and phased behind Vegeta, planning on crashing his hands down in a double axe handle on his rival's head. But when he reappeared, his rival was gone. He looked around dumbly for a second, but it was a second too long as he soon found himself flying through the air courtesy of a Big Bang pushing him so high in the atmosphere it was hard to breathe.

He managed to twist away from the attack before it exploded and used instant transmission to return to Vegeta's location. He appeared right behind the prince and spun around in a roundhouse kick that was barely blocked. Vegeta growled and grabbed Goku's leg and started spinning him around, building momentum, until he released him and sent him crashing into the ground below.

Goku jumped out of the crater his body formed and leaped back into the air. In an instant he was on Vegeta's level, punching and kicking the guardian before he had time to react. Soon Vegeta found himself imbedded in the ground, looking up at his smirking rival. With a growl he launched himself at the smirking saiyan and soon they were again in hand-to-hand combat with neither gaining the advantage.

"Is that… Vegeta's ki I feel? And Goku's?" Kibitoshin asked, his jaw dropping. He looked over at his ancestor, seeking confirmation.

Elder Kai rolled his eyes and turned back to his comic book. "Of course it is. They're fighting each other."

"Each other?" Kibitoshin shouted. "But how? What is Goku doing on Vegeta-sei?"

"He used that instant transmission technique of his. I'm guessing he sensed Vegeta's presence there and went to check it out. And you know those two, always fighting…" his voice turned to an incoherent mumble as his attention turned from his conversation to his comics.

"Oh, no," Kibitoshin muttered to himself, "What kind of damage will they do?" He frowned and clenched his fists at his sides. Leave it to those two saiyans to start fighting without thinking about the probable consequences. He would just have to go and stop them before they accidentally tore the planet apart or somehow managed to kill the entire saiyan population and ruin the whole point of it being recreated in the first place. He figured it would be safer to transport himself quite a distance away from them so as not to get caught in any crossfire.

Goku stopped mid-punch and looked over to his left, catching Vegeta's fist in his hand instinctively. "Hey, is that Supreme Kai?"

Vegeta glanced over to his right and felt out the Supreme Kai's ki. After a moment he nodded with a sneer. "Now what does he want?"

They waited for Kibitoshin to approach them. It took him a while to reach them, but when he finally did they were both surprised to see him scowling at them, clearly furious about something. Goku grinned and rubbed the back of his head and Vegeta crossed his arms over his chest and scowled back at him. He wasn't appreciative of his spar being interrupted just when it was really getting good.

"What do you two think you're doing?" Kibitoshin demanded.

"Sparring," Vegeta answered.

Kibitoshin felt like smacking the saiyan guardian. "Yes, I see that, Vegeta. How could you be so reckless? Are you trying to destroy your planet?"

"Aw, don't worry Supreme Kai," Goku said, ever cheerful, "We were being careful."

Vegeta rolled his eyes and Kibitoshin rubbed his temples. He could feel a headache coming on and surprisingly it wasn't because of the former prince. "Well cut it out!" he snapped. "I don't want to have to make you a new planet again!"

"Whatever. Is that all you came to say? Because if it is you can leave now," Vegeta snarled. He shoved the Supreme Kai aside and moved into his stance to restart his fight with his rival. "Let's get on with this."

"Ok!" Goku grinned and resumed his fighting stance, completely ignoring the kai's pleas for them to stop before they irreparably damaged the planet.

Kibitoshin could only helplessly watch as the saiyans again engaged each other in combat. Soon they disappeared from sight as they phased in and out too fast to track, bouncing, flying, blasting, and running across the planet as if it were theirs to use as their playground. He sighed and rubbed his hand across his face. "Why do I even bother trying?" He asked miserably, then yelped when a ki beam shot past him, inches from his face.

"Sorry!" he heard Goku's voice call from somewhere. He groaned.

The whole planet seemed to shake with the shockwaves and explosions. Their friendly spar was rocking the planet to its foundations, which only made Kibitoshin more nervous. There was no way he could stop them once they got in a fight. He learned that the first time around when Vegeta was willing to let Babidi possess him and make him a majin just so he could fight with Goku. Then Goku refused to back down from his challenge once innocent lives were taken. He was put on the receiving end of Goku's ki, forcing him to back down and let them go at it.

"This is not good," he told himself. He sighed and teleported himself to Vegeta's Lookout to wait for them to finish their spar so he could lecture them about their carelessness. Hopefully they would beat each other silly so they wouldn't have the strength to put up a fight when he sat them down and had a nice long talk about responsibility.

'What can I really expect?' he thought. 'Fighting is in their blood. It makes sense that they would want to fight each other. They are the two strongest beings in the universe, no one else would be a challenge for them. Still, they could hurt the other saiyans!' He frowned again and crossed his arms over his chest as he sulked. It was really irritating being the supreme ruler of the universe, yet still be unable to control two lower immortals because they could easily overpower him. 'I might as well check up on the saiyans while I'm here and see how they're progressing.'

His hair blew around his face as Vegeta's body went skidding past him across the platform of the Lookout. He didn't even bat an eye when the saiyan's body slid off the edge and started falling to the ground. His hair whipped in his face again when Goku sailed past him in hot pursuit of the first saiyan.

The Supreme Kai cleared his mind and focused on the saiyans below, most of whom were quivering in fear as the ground shook, sonic booms filled the air, and explosions lit up the sky. He could hardly blame them. It probably looked like the apocalypse from their point of view. He was mildly frustrated with Vegeta and Goku for scaring them so much. He shook that thought aside and tried to get an overall picture of what was going on below.

There weren't many significant power levels. At least, not significant in comparison to the two saiyans he knew personally. They were still rather primitive, even animalistic in nature. They lived by instincts and were motivated by the desires of their flesh, but they were still very intelligent. They had a complex language and they were learning more about themselves and their world, but it would be a long time before they developed any real science or technology. He could see that the saiyans had broken themselves into six tribes, each with a few hundred members. The tribes consisted of packs that generally had ten to twenty members. They were close-knit family units that lived together and supported one another by providing food and protection against attacks from other packs. They were a brutal people, he could tell. Many of them were nursing wounds and some of the older saiyans walked with permanent limps or had eye patches and scars covering their muscular bodies. Yes, they were a warrior race through and through. When they had no other races to fight they fought amongst themselves. So far, though, it didn't look like there had been any serious wars between them.

Hours passed as Supreme Kai honed in on individual saiyans, reading their minds to get a firm grasp on what was going on in their civilization. He found the strongest saiyans and learned that they were revered among their packs and tribes and set on pedestals as natural-born leaders. Not all of them were very bright, but they had plenty of brawn and apparently that was good enough for the saiyans. He explored their thoughts and memories and looked at the world through their eyes. He was pleased that they were, for the most part, free of evil. They fought like barbarians, but with no evil intent. They just loved the feeling of adrenaline pumping through their veins and the sport of meeting a challenge and coming out as victor. Saiyans, it seemed, were not inherently evil as he feared. Hot-headed, perhaps, but not evil. Maybe Vegeta's job would be easier than he had predicted.

The two suns were setting and still Vegeta and Goku persisted in their fight. They were tiring, more from sustaining such a high level of power for so long than from the blows they received in their spar. They were panting and sweating profusely as they stared each other down on the opposite side of the planet that they started on.

"Wow…Vegeta…" Goku said between deep breaths. "You've definitely…been training…hard."

"You…aren't too…bad...yourself," Vegeta gasped out.

"I can't…hold the…transformation…much…longer."

"Me…either. Let's…finish…quick."

Kibitoshin breathed a sigh of relief when he felt both saiyans' power levels plummet. Finally they wore themselves out and couldn't maintain their transformations anymore. His small smile turned to a frown when their ki continued falling. "Now what?" he groused.

Vegeta landed in the side of a mountain, a large burn on his chest and several broken ribs. His hair reverted to its normal length and his dark blue eyes faded to black before his eyelids fell shut and he lost consciousness. His chest, now smooth and free of fur, cracked and peeled as his body worked to repair the damage it received from Goku's last attack.

Goku's body hit the sandy shore of a large lake and rolled down a small dune. He coughed a few times until his mouth was filled with bloody phlegm. He spit it out and groaned in pain. No doubt he had several broken ribs of his own. His vision blurred as his body, too, returned to his base form with no fur and his hair back to its original crazy style. His gold eyes turned black again right before he lost his grip on consciousness.

Kibitoshin smacked his forehead when he realized what happened to the two saiyans. They had fallen unconscious in two locations miles away from each other. They were alone, unable to defend themselves, on a planet with potentially hostile inhabitants. He couldn't take the risk of any saiyans finding them. He stood up and straightened out his clothes before honing in on Vegeta's location and teleporting himself there. He had to look around for a minute before he found Vegeta among the rubble. "There you are," he said as he pulled the guardian's limp body out of the side of the mountain, then took him back to the Lookout and gently laid him down on the platform.

"Now for Goku," he sighed as he searched for the other immortal saiyan's weak ki. It was amazing how they could be the two most powerful beings in the universe one minute and the next as helpless as babies. He shook his head at that thought and disappeared from the Lookout and reappeared next to Goku, his feet sinking into the soft sand. "These two could drive a kai to drink."

A minute later Kibitoshin returned to the Lookout with Goku and laid him down next to Vegeta. Both of them looked the worse for wear. He wondered which one won their spar, if either did. The way it felt, they knocked each other out at the same time, so it was probably a draw. He rolled his eyes. Leave it to them. Unbelievably powerful, recklessly careless, putting other lives in danger for their own amusement, and for what? A tie? It was absurd. He chuckled and shook his head. Saiyans certainly were an interesting breed, and these two were the best of them.

He knelt down next to Goku and held his hands over his chest to begin healing him. When the saiyan's eyes opened as he regained consciousness, Kibitoshin frowned disapprovingly at him and turned to Vegeta to repeat the procedure. When Vegeta was also awake, the Supreme Kai stood up, towering over the two saiyans who were still too weak to even sit up, and crossed his arms over his chest.

"And here it comes," Vegeta muttered to his partner in crime.

"Vegeta!" Kibitoshin snapped. "I cannot believe how irresponsible you are! You are this planet's guardian. It is your job to _care_ for the planet and its people, not try to tear it apart! How foolish could you be? What if one of your attacks got out of control? The shockwaves alone were practically enough to blow this entire planet to smithereens."

"Well, the planet and all the saiyans are still alive and well, aren't they?" Vegeta snapped back.

Kibitoshin glowered at the saiyan guardian for a few seconds before turning to Goku. "And you. Goku, really! You should know better. In case you've forgotten, you're the strongest person in the universe. You should use discretion with your power."

"Discretion?" Goku scratched the back of his head and looked at Vegeta, hoping for an explanation.

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "It means you know when and when not to use your full power."

"Oh." Goku laughed and shrugged. "We didn't hurt anybody."

Kibitoshin groaned and ran his fingers through his hair. Talking to them was like talking to two disobedient, unrepentant, and hyperactive children. "That's not the point," he hissed.

"Whatever." Vegeta dismissed the kai's concerns with a wave and forced himself into a sitting position. "It was a draw, Kakarrot."

"Yeah, I guess." Goku smirked mischievously. "But next time I'll win."

"There isn't going to be a next time!" Kibitoshin cried. "Haven't you listened to a word I've said?"

Goku looked at him dumbly and Vegeta huffed haughtily, crossing his arms over his chest. Yes, they were definitely like children, and Kibitoshin did not have the time or the patience to babysit the saiyans.

"Look, if you're going to spar again, take it somewhere else. Some planet far away from here where there are no living beings."

Vegeta quirked an eyebrow. "I thought I wasn't allowed to leave this blasted planet."

"I'm giving you permission to leave for short times!" Kibitoshin yelled. " Now stop arguing with me!"

The saiyan guardian grinned evilly and laid back down. Sitting up was too much work at the moment. He'd successfully gotten under the pesky kai's skin. He reached his goal in record time. "Fine, whatever. You can go now, oh might ruler of the universe."

"I don't need you to tell me if I can go or not," the Supreme Kai grumbled. He gave them one last admonishing glare before returning to Otherworld.

"He seemed kind of mad," Goku said.

Vegeta snickered. "I think every time he leaves this planet he's mad about something."

"Oh? Does he come here often?"

"Every few years he comes to 'check up' on me. Make sure I'm not training the saiyans to take over the whole universe or some bullshit like that. He's a fool if he thinks I would waste my only opportunity…"

Goku didn't prod Vegeta to finish what he was saying. He already knew what the older saiyan was thinking and respected him for it, too much to make him say it out loud or finish his sentence for him. He let the silence stretch between them, figuring Vegeta's thoughts were elsewhere, probably on a certain blue-haired woman who died long ago. His own thoughts turned to his late wife, Chichi. He didn't miss her terribly often. It wasn't that he didn't love her, but he was never that close to her. How many years was he married to her, really? Twenty? It should have been more than double that. He regretted leaving her so much now. He spent more time away from her than with her, and now he couldn't ever see her unless he sneaked in to heaven for short visits.

The sky darkened to black before Vegeta sat up again with a low groan from the lingering pain in his ribs. He silently cursed the Supreme Kai for not healing him all the way. Oh, well. A little pain never killed anyone. And he knew pain more intimately than most. "Kakarrot, this place is a mess. You're going to help me fix it."

"Huh?" Goku, too, sat up and looked around. He laughed and scratched his head when he saw the cracked tiles, the craters and ruts marring the otherwise smooth surface, and the partially collapsing center palace. "Guess we got carried away."

"Yes, I suppose so. I don't feel like dealing with this tonight. Let's eat. Then I'm going to bed. That blasted kai could have healed us a little better." Vegeta pushed himself to his feet and shuffled regally to the kitchen to prepare a meal big enough for two saiyans – saiyans who spent the day as super saiyan fours. Needless to say, it took much longer and much more food than usual to sate their hunger.

When they were finished, Goku sighed contentedly and stretched his arms over his head. "Boy, that was good. But I'm exhausted."

Vegeta grunted his agreement. "Well, you know where your quarters are, so I don't need to show you to them. I'm going to check up on the saiyans then retire for the night. You can do as you please." He groaned again as he stood up on stiff legs and walked to the edge of the Lookout, not bothering to sit down. He was afraid he wouldn't be able to stand up again, considering how much his body hurt.

'What happened today?'

'It was like the world was shaking apart!'

'Did you see those flashes in the sky?'

'I thought I saw someone up there.'

'It was surely the gods above fighting!'

Vegeta smirked when he heard the thoughts and conversations below. So, he and Kakarrot made the news, it seemed. Not that it wasn't expected. He knew at the time what they were thinking. He knew they feared the end of the world. But now it was over and they had time to gossip and wonder exactly what was going on through the day. Let them think as they liked. He was rather fond of the last thought he listened to before closing his mind off to them and returning to his quarters for some much needed sleep.

_A/N: Well, there's another chapter for you. This one just kind of...happened. It was very easy to write._

_Review, please!_


	5. Red Desert

Red Desert

Vegeta hopped over a large hole in the platform of his Lookout as he made his way to the edge to do his morning check-up on the saiyans. He yawned and stretched his arms over his head before sitting down with his legs hanging over the side and cleared his mind to turn his attention solely to his charges. He didn't expect much to have changed since the previous day, but saiyans could always surprise him.

He sighed with boredom as he listened to their mundane thoughts and conversations and watched them going about their everyday activities with their usual gusto or lack thereof. The events of the previous day apparently hadn't broken their routines any more than they had broken his. He entertained himself briefly with the idea of divinely inspiring them to hurry up and form a monarchy or start building advanced technology or _something_, but he knew they had to evolve at their own pace without his interference. He groaned and laid back to look up at the blue sky. Sky. He was always surrounded by sky. It was nice feeling the ground under his feet again when he was fighting with Kakarrot. He closed his eyes and continued his check-up until he was certain every single saiyan was still behaving.

He stood up again, hissing quietly when the muscles in his legs burned with the effort. Deity or not, he was still sore from his spar. He took quite a beating, but then so did his rival. Even if he hadn't, he still would have been sore after maintaining such a high power level for so long. He never mastered the fourth level as he had the first two. Even had he wanted to, he was afraid the earth wouldn't have been able to bear that kind of energy without crumbling into space dust. He couldn't take that risk for his own desire to become more powerful. As if he needed to be anyway. He _could_ ascend to the fourth level of super saiyan, and at that level he would be able to easily overpower any potential adversaries. Nothing would ever be as powerful as that dragon again.

"Good morning, Vegeta!"

Vegeta turned his head to see the other saiyan walking toward him from the central palace. He looked like he just woke up and wasn't feeling much better than Vegeta. He winced with pain when he stretched. Vegeta grunted his greeting and turned his attention to survey the sad state of his Lookout. There was a great deal of damage, but with two saiyans it hopefully wouldn't take very long to repair. Not that either of them were particularly gifted in construction…

But really. How hard could it be? Vegeta shrugged and made a circuit around the Lookout to see what all needed to be done before he started dictating tasks to his sparring partner. When he reached his starting place he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn't know where to begin.

"So, how do you fix this place up?" Goku asked, scratching the back of his head.

"I have no idea."

"Oh." Goku rocked forward on the balls of his feet and back on his heels. "King Kai taught me a little bit about building stuff when Cell blew up his planet."

"And why would I trust you to rebuild my Lookout?" Vegeta grumbled.

Goku grinned at Vegeta's comment. He never took offense at anything the older saiyan said anymore. He'd gotten used to his snide remarks long ago. "Well, unless you have any better ideas…"

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Fine. What do we do?"

"Well, first I guess we need to get some supplies to build with. What kind of stuff is this made of?"

"I don't know. The Supreme Kai created it. Let's just use whatever the planet has to offer. I'm sure there's some good stone somewhere."

"Ok!" Goku, without waiting to make sure Vegeta was coming, ran to the edge of the Lookout and jumped off.

The saiyan guardian chuckled to himself as he watched his oldest friend disappear from view. He would never change. But then, would he want him to be any different? He was a fool, but his personality had a way of growing on a person, even someone as abrasive as Vegeta. With a shake of the head, Vegeta flew after Goku and quickly caught up to direct him to a vast wilderness uninhabited by any of the saiyans. There was sure to be good stone there for them to use to repair his Lookout.

"So…now what?" Goku asked as he surveyed the barren landscape. The stone formations there were almost as red as the sky. Vegeta recognized the wilderness as one where saiyans used to go to train in solitude. The conditions there were brutal, reaching the planet's highest temperatures during the day and the coldest at night. It was dry, not having a single oasis, little vegetation, and fewer animals. Winds there could blow into sandstorms that would last for days or weeks at a time. It was a rugged terrain with solid stone that would be perfect for the guardian's palace.

Vegeta shrugged and raised his right hand. "We start cutting stone." He released a blast of ki that cut one of the rock formations in half. Before it fell to the ground he sent more blasts of ki that cut it neatly into square tiles of dark red stone. They landed in a pile where the rock formation once stood.

"You know, I don't think this is going to match the rest of the Lookout," Goku said as he started cutting rock into tiles the same size as Vegeta's. The rest of the Lookout was made of pristine white stone. Dark red certainly wouldn't fit in with it.

The saiyan guardian snorted. "As if I care. I like this color better anyway. It's more fitting of a saiyan pri—guardian." He shook his head at the near slip of his tongue. He wasn't a prince anymore. But he'd spent so many years throwing his title in everyone's face that it had become a hard habit to break even when his new status was higher. He never bragged about being a guardian of a planet. Who was there to tell? He didn't much care for the position anyway.

Goku grinned at his old friend's reasoning. He wasn't going to argue. "You going to replace all the old stone with this then?"

"How hard could it be?"

"I don't know."

"I'm sure there's nothing to it."

"If you say so."

Vegeta growled a little and finished cutting more stone. They were surrounded by stacks of tile that they figured would be sufficient to cover the entire Lookout platform. There might even be some extra.

"Now how the hell do we get this back to my Lookout?" Vegeta grumbled.

"Carry it?"

The two saiyans looked at all the tiles again and sighed. That would take a whole lot of trips to and from the Lookout. It wasn't that they couldn't carry the heavy stone easily enough, it was just the thought of wasting time on such a trivial task that was so uninviting. Vegeta's eyebrow raised as he walked to a particularly large pile of stone tiles. He raised his hands and focused his ki to levitate the stone off the ground. It had been a while since he used his ki to manipulate objects and he was rather out of practice. He got the tiles a few feet off the ground before his ki slipped and it all crashed back to the ground.

"Damn."

Goku walked over and stood next to Vegeta with his hands on his hips and head cocked to the side as he looked at the pile of stone. "What if you go back to the Lookout and I use instant transmission to bring the tiles back to you?"

"You would still have to fly back every time you came to the Lookout because there won't be anyone here for you to sense their ki."

"Oh. Right." Goku rubbed the back of his neck and laughed at their predicament. "Guess we have no choice but to carry them, huh?"

Vegeta grumbled to himself as he knelt down and picked up as many tiles as he could carry without dropping any. Goku thought he heard something about needing a genie, but he wasn't sure he heard right. He grabbed as many tiles as Vegeta and soon they were on their way back to the Lookout to start the repairs.

As soon as they landed on the platform Vegeta dropped his tiles on the ground and dusted his hands off. He was irritated with his situation. Being reduced to doing servant's work was humiliating enough when he was a prince. Now he was doing servant's work as a god! The higher-ups were surely having a good, hearty laugh at his misfortune. Next to him, Goku more gently set his tiles down on the platform and cracked his back as he readied himself to return to the desert to retrieve more.

"Kakarrot," Vegeta said, stopping his friend at the edge of the Lookout. "We would finish with this stupid task faster if you keep getting tile and I stay here and make the repairs."

"Are you sure you don't just want out of the job of carrying the tiles?"

Vegeta crossed his arm over his chest and scowled at the other saiyan, his tail flicking agitatedly behind him. "Shut up and go."

Goku laughed again and jumped off the edge of the Lookout. He didn't mind doing the hard labor, really, but he thought it was funny how Vegeta tried to cover his desire to avoid the job. He would always be the proud, arrogant Prince of all Saiyans to him. Never willing to lower himself to be on par with anyone else, Vegeta would remain the same forever. But Goku had long since accepted his over-inflated ego and come to respect him despite his pride issues. Both, it seemed, had come to an understanding of each other years ago.

With the younger saiyan gone, Vegeta turned back to the Lookout and started pulling the old, white tiles up and throwing them to the side. He could use them to repair the center palace instead of having to essentially rebuild the whole thing. It would look nice, he decided, to have a polished white palace surrounded by blood red tiles on all sides. It was more becoming for the guardian of Vegeta-sei to have a Lookout that not only matched the planet better, but reflected the nature of its master and the people below. Noble at heart, violent in action.

Aside from his eye twitching, Vegeta gave no indication that he noticed Goku appearing out of nowhere with another armful of tiles next to him. Rather than acknowledging his rival, he continued removing the old tiles of the platform in silence. Goku said nothing either as he ran to the edge of the Lookout and kicked off into the sky to go get more tiles. He could at least save time by using instant transmission to get from the desert back to Vegeta. It was easier than having to balance so many tiles the whole way back anyway.

An hour passed before Vegeta had all the old tiles removed. Goku was still going back and forth between the Lookout and the desert to bring back the new tiles, so Vegeta started the task of putting the new tiles in place on his own. By the time Goku brought the last of the tiles, Vegeta was about done putting them in place. Finally, he straightened up and patted the dirt off his hands and crossed his arms over his chest. He looked over his work and had to admit to himself that it looked pretty good, considering he had no previous experience in the construction department.

"Wow, Vegeta," Goku said, rubbing the back of his head with his trademark grin spread across his face. "You're really good at this."

Vegeta snorted. It wasn't exactly the most difficult thing he had ever done, but he wouldn't deny that he was good at what he did. "That was the easy part. I still need to repair the palace. It's falling apart." As he said that one of the columns fell over and crashed to the floor. The timing couldn't have been better. Goku started laughing.

The saiyan guardian couldn't help the small upturn of the corners of his lips. He shook his head and walked across the Lookout toward the center where he had the old tile piled up. He already spent the majority of the day replacing the tiles of the platform, so he wasn't really in the mood to work on the palace. But, whether he wanted to or not, it needed to be done. There was no point in living in a rundown pile of rubble because he was too lazy to finish the repairs.

The sky was darkening as the two suns of Vegeta-sei set by the time Vegeta and Goku finally finished making the palace look as good as new – if not better. They were quite pleased with their work as they stood at the center of the Lookout surveying the area. The shrubbery would still need to be touched up, but there wasn't much they could do about it for now. Plants would grow at their own pace without any help from them.

"We did a pretty good job, don't you think, 'Geta?" Goku asked.

"Hn."

Goku chuckled at his friend's predictable response. It was anyone's guess what it ever meant, but he chose to interpret it as an affirmative. "So can we eat now? I'm starving!"

Vegeta was actually surprised the younger saiyan hadn't mentioned eating earlier in the day. He was immortal too, but that didn't seem to have had any effect on his appetite. While Vegeta only wanted one meal a day since becoming a god, Goku still wanted to eat the majority of the day. It was a miracle he lasted as long as he did without breaking down and whining like a five year-old when he didn't get breakfast, lunch, and multiple snacks throughout the day.

"You know where the kitchen is," Vegeta grumbled.

The younger saiyan held his stomach, which decided it was going to put its two cents in. "But Vegeta," he pouted, dragging the guardian's name out, "I don't know how to cook."

The flame-haired saiyan rolled his eyes and sighed. "As if I do." Regardless, he turned and walked into the palace to go make enough dinner for two saiyans. As he walked inside, Goku again thought he heard him muttering something about a genie.

Goku scratched the back of his head, wondering for a moment why Vegeta was so upset about a genie. Not able to draw any conclusions, he shrugged and ran after his old rival. He could already smell the food and his mouth was watering at the mere thought of eating. Vegeta wasn't the best cook by any stretch of the imagination, but he was undoubtedly much worse and would gladly eat what the older saiyan provided him.

The sky was completely dark aside from the crescent moons and stars when Vegeta walked back out to the edge of the platform and sat down. It took quite a while to feed two saiyans. He had a newfound appreciation for the women on Earth who catered to his needs. He knew Bulma's mother always spent the entire day cooking as long as he knew her so he could wolf all of it down in minutes. She never seemed to mind though; if anything, she liked that he ate so much so fast. It made her feel like all the work she put into it was worth it.

'Forget a genie,' he mused. 'I should have her here to cook for me.'

Pushing that thought aside, Vegeta once again cleared his mind to check up on the saiyan population. One eyebrow slowly raised when he found that all the members of one of the tribes were gathered together instead of spread out as usual. Now interested, he focused his mind on some of the individuals.

_'They think they can keep us from hunting in that area of our territory!'_

_'We're the strongest! We can fight them!'_

_'Don't they outnumber us?'_

Vegeta brow creased as he listened in on their thoughts. So there was some sort of territorial dispute between two of the tribes. It wasn't unexpected. He almost smiled when he realized how they were basically replaying their history. Fights between tribes weren't common at first, but as they grew and spread they had increasing numbers of conflicts. Sometimes they formed alliances and other times it was little more than a planet-wide brawl between tribes. It looked like they might be taking another step in their evolution as a people. He wasn't concerned about the outcome of the upcoming battle; whoever won would probably rise in power over the other tribes until they became too domineering and arrogant and the others took them down a notch or two. The rise and fall of power of tribes was natural until one finally produced an individual with enough strength to cut down any who opposed his tribe. Then he would be made king and a monarchy would begin. It would be unstable at first, but over the generations it would hold firm and be unquestioned.

"What's going on down there?" Goku asked as he came over and sat down next to the Guardian of Vegeta-sei.

Vegeta smirked. "One of the tribes is going to start a war with another soon."

Goku's eyes widened. "Isn't that a bad thing? Shouldn't you do something to stop them?"

"No, Kakarrot. They will inevitably start fighting amongst themselves sometime. I am surprised the wars are starting so soon, but I suppose it makes sense considering the first generation was already fully evolved. Probably this time around the progression of the saiyan race will move a little faster."

"Oh. Well, ok, if you're sure." Goku wasn't entirely convinced it was good for the saiyans to be fighting against each other, but Vegeta was confident that it would work out. He didn't want to contradict the guardian. After all, Vegeta was the only saiyan in the whole universe who knew anything about their race before it was ever destroyed. He didn't know anything about their history because he was sent away from Vegeta-sei as a baby and all the saiyans down below were either born after the planet's destruction or they didn't remember anything about their previous lives.

Vegeta didn't miss the note of uncertainty in Goku's reply. He felt slight indignation that the younger saiyan didn't entirely trust his judgment, but he let it slide. He knew his old rival was a bit of a pacifist even if he did enjoy a good fight. He was notorious for only seeing the negative side of saiyan aggression even after he came to terms with being one himself.

Seeing that was the only thing interesting happening down below, Vegeta yawned and stretched as he stood up and started walking back to the palace. It was time to go to bed so he could get up early in the morning and begin his regular routine again. He could sense Goku standing still on the edge of the Lookout. He took a few more steps before he paused and glanced over his shoulder at the younger saiyan.

Goku had a rare look of consternation as he rubbed the back of his neck with one hand while the other was clenched in a fist at his side. Vegeta raised an eyebrow before turning around and crossing his arms over his chest. He waited for his old rival to speak.

"Vegeta, I – I think I should leave soon," Goku said after a few minutes.

Had he not been so practiced in remaining unreadable on the outside, Goku would have seen Vegeta's face fall with disappointment, even sadness. Vegeta knew better than to expect his friend to stick around for long. He had a habit of dropping in at odd intervals and leaving for extended periods of time while he was still alive. It wasn't a habit that was likely to change when he became immortal and lost basically all ties to the living world. His family and friends were all gone, why stay in one place? He had a whole universe to roam freely in. Vegeta could only nod his understanding.

"It's been really good seeing you, you know," Goku added.

"Hn."

Goku looked over at the former prince and smiled guiltily. He knew Vegeta was lonely and bored where he was. He knew that he was obligated to stay behind and watch over the saiyans. Goku really didn't want to leave him behind, but he never did like staying in one place for too long.

"I'll come back," he mumbled. "Sometime."

Vegeta snorted and shook his head. "Sometime, Kakarrot? You know as well as I that it could be in ten years or a thousand. I won't wait up for you."

One side of Goku's mouth lifted in a half-hearted grin. He laughed at himself humorlessly. The truth of Vegeta's statement struck a nerve. He didn't want to be away that long, but he knew well enough that he would forget to come back in a timely manner. When they still lived on Earth he could go without seeing any of his friends for years at a time and never think twice about it. Now that he had an endless life, time moved by slowly for him. What was ten years of Earth could be hundreds now. Vegeta was right. It might be centuries before they met again. That thought cut him deeply.

"I'm sorry, Vegeta."

"What for?"

Goku shrugged one shoulder and turned so he wouldn't have to face the saiyan guardian. "I'm sorry that I can't deny what you said. It's true, isn't it? Always another adventure. I sometimes think I lost what was most important because I can't stand to stay put."

Vegeta grunted his agreement. What had his rival lost? He lost the chance to see his eldest son growing into a man. He missed being there for the birth of his second son and the first seven years of his life. He missed years with his granddaughter, Pan, when he left to train Uub. He missed seeing his family grow over the years and abandoned his wife to leave with Shenron. She died alone, both of her sons having left home with their own families. Goku left them all. His friends, his family. Vegeta didn't resent him for that. He understood better than anyone why Goku wasn't there for them. He felt the same urge to flee the planet and return to space. To feel free and unbound. But he resisted that urge for the sake of his loved ones. And that was a decision he never regretted. His life was more fulfilling than it ever could have been had he chosen to live as Goku did.

Were either of them happy now?

"When will you be leaving?" Vegeta asked. He cursed himself for the tremble in his voice.

Goku turned around again, forcing himself to meet his friend's dark gaze. He frowned. "Tomorrow."

Vegeta swallowed and nodded again. He inhaled deeply and turned on his heel to stalk back to the palace alone. Alone, as he always was. As he always would be until…

"Vegeta."

The god stopped. He didn't turn to face Goku. He couldn't bear to see him right now. Not when he knew he was leaving for another indefinite time the next day. Leaving him alone to his boredom and self-pity for years to come.

Goku sighed and scratched the back of his head. "I missed you."

"No, Kakarrot," Vegeta countered. "You missed a good fight."

Without another word he disappeared from view through the dark doorway to the central palace. Goku clenched both of his fists and sat down on the edge of the Lookout again. "You're wrong, Vegeta. I did miss you. You were the only one who ever really understood me. You have no idea how much your respect means to me."

He laid back and stared up at the black sky speckled with stars. He crossed his arms under his head and closed his eyes. He wasn't tired enough to sleep. He hadn't done anything too strenuous that day. A lot of flying back and forth, but that was about it. He doubted Vegeta was going to be able to sleep either, but he knew better than to bother him after he retired.

"There has to be something I can do for him before I leave."

The next morning Vegeta rose at his usual time and went out to check up on the saiyans from his spot on the edge of the Lookout. When he reached the edge, he saw Goku lying there asleep. He shook his head and sat down next to him and cleared his mind to focus on his charges.

_'We're going to fight them for it!'_

_'They won't be expecting an attack from the south. We can defeat them if we get them in a surprise attack!'_

'Seems they're serious about this,' Vegeta thought with a faint smile. 'Probably the offense didn't warrant this retaliation, but what should I expect? They're saiyans.'

_'If only King Vegeta were here.'_

Vegeta's eyes snapped open and a gasp escaped his lips. He shook his head, not believing what he heard. He closed his eyes again and searched for the saiyan whose thought he heard. His mental link moved from one saiyan to another until he landed on an old saiyan with long, graying hair. His eyebrow rose when he realized who it was.

"Raditz?"

It couldn't be possible. The Supreme Kai wiped everyone's memories. They weren't supposed to remember anything about their past lives. They weren't supposed to remember there ever being a King Vegeta, an evil tyrant overlord, or the destruction of their home planet. If Raditz somehow remembered Vegeta, then surely he would remember the other things as well. That just wasn't possible. There was absolutely no way. And yet…

_'Raditz?'_

_'Who's there?'_

_'Raditz, do you remember me?'_

_'You sound like Prince Vegeta. But you can't be because he's…dead.'_

_'You're right. I'm not Prince Vegeta. Not anymore.'_

_'What does that mean?'_

_'Never mind that. I want to know how you remember me. And my father.'_

_'I'm not sure. I used to only have a vague sense that there was more than I knew. Like there was something I should remember but I couldn't figure out what. Over the years I started seeing pieces of scenes playing out when I was asleep. I didn't think they were real at first, but they seemed so real. As real as life itself, maybe more real. But where are you? Are you really Prince Vegeta?'_

_'I'm not the prince anymore, Raditz. I have a different status now. Have you told anyone else of your memories?'_

Vegeta felt Raditz's mental shrug. _'I have, but no one else seems to know what I'm talking about. I've given up trying. But if you're here maybe they would believe me!'_

_'I'm not going to be there. They can't remember me. You were never supposed to remember. Don't mention me or anything that happened before again.'_

There was a short pause._ 'Why?'_

Vegeta sighed and raised his eyes to the heavens. Would it be safe to explain it? What harm was there if Raditz already remembered his past on his own? _'Because, Raditz, the saiyans must not become what they were when we were alive – the first time.'_

_'What do you mean?'_

_'I mean they have to start over as if their previous existence never happened.'_

Vegeta could feel the long-haired saiyan's disappointment and frustration. He could understand those feelings well. He knew it must be aggravating being reborn in an era he didn't belong in. He couldn't imagine how hard it was for Raditz to cope with living a life not entirely his own. He almost felt pity for his old comrade.

_'I'll never see you, then, my prince?'_

_'I'm not your prince anymore, Raditz.'_

_'Where are you? Are you alive too?'_

_'I'm alive, yes. Where am I? I cannot say. I'm glad you've lived a good life this time around, Raditz. You won't be condemned to hell again.'_

A wave of anguish and panic shot across the mental link between the saiyans. Vegeta winced when he felt it. They were the same emotions he felt the night before when Goku told him he was leaving. The same feeling of abandonment that tore him apart inside. It was strange to think anyone would be feeling that because of him. He sighed and bowed his head.

_'Raditz, do you remember the red desert?'_

_'Yes. That's where the saiyans always went to train in solitude.'_

_'Go there. I will meet you as soon as I can. Bring no one with you. Don't tell them where you're going or why.'_

_'Yes, sir.'_

Vegeta stood up and looked down at the sleeping saiyan. He smirked and kicked Goku in the ribs. "Wake up, clown!"

Goku yelped and immediately jumped to his feet, rubbing his aching ribs with a sullen expression on his face. "What was that for?" he grumbled.

"Stop whining," Vegeta said. "We're going back to the desert. I want you to see someone before you leave."

Goku's face immediately brightened at the prospect of going on another short adventure with Vegeta before he left Vegeta-sei to continue his roaming about the universe. "Sure!"

"Good. Let's go." Vegeta stepped off the edge of the Lookout and allowed himself to freefall hundreds of feet before he blasted off to the west. Goku followed close behind, wondering who Vegeta would want him to meet.

Half an hour later Vegeta and Goku landed in the desert near where they spent the day before cutting stone for the Lookout. The wind blew up a cloud of red dust that blinded them. The two suns beat down on them and soon they felt sweat trickling down their backs as they looked around the barren wasteland. There was little to see aside from rocks and dirt.

"So who are we looking for?" Goku asked, scratching his head.

Vegeta smirked and started walking forward. "Your brother."

"What?"

Goku ran to catch up with the saiyan guardian as he continued walking in the direction he felt a weak power level. It was a little over a thousand. Nothing too impressive, but then Raditz never did have an unusually high power level for a third-class warrior. Now that he reached old age it wasn't surprising that it was even lower.

The first thing the two immortal saiyans saw was a mass of black hair streaked with gray. There was no other saiyan either of them knew with hair like that. Vegeta was the first to speak: "Raditz."

The tall saiyan turned around when he heard his name. When he saw his former prince he immediately dropped to one knee to bow before him. "Prince Vegeta."

"Forgetful one, aren't you?" Vegeta teased as he stepped closer. "I've told you already, I'm not your prince anymore."

"Forgive me, but you will always be my prince."

Goku watched the interaction from the sidelines. He felt uneasy around his older brother. The only memories he had of him was from his short talk and battle with him when he came to Earth to recruit his help in the planet trade. He was seeing a different side of the abrasive saiyan. He was seeing reverent respect, maybe admiration. Perhaps something akin to friendship? He never knew how Vegeta and Raditz got along. Vegeta never mentioned him.

Vegeta chuckled and circled around his kneeling subject. "Get up, Raditz. There's no need for these formalities."

Slowly, Raditz rose to his feet again. He wasn't as agile as he used to be. He stood up straight and proud as he waited for Vegeta to finish his appraisal. It was only then that he noticed his prince had not come alone.

"Kakarrot?"

Goku grinned nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. He waved with his free hand. "Hey, Raditz. How's it going?"

Raditz narrowed his eyes and turned to Vegeta. He was certain they were playing some kind of joke on him. There was no way they were together and not fighting. He couldn't believe it, even if they, like him, had been brought back to life with no memories. It seemed they both knew who he was so they had to remember their past animosity. Could they throw that to the wayside as if it meant nothing? Where was their pride?

Vegeta seemed to understand Raditz's confusion. "I know what you're thinking, Raditz. No, we're not enemies anymore. I laid that grudge to rest centuries ago."

"You mean he turned to our side after I died?"

"Not exactly. It was more the other way around."

At this, Goku laughed. "Yeah, it took you long enough. I don't think you really accepted being one of the good guys until our fight with Omega Shenron."

Vegeta smirked. "Who says I accepted it then?"

"Don't even try to tell me you're still evil."

Raditz was baffled by the friendly banter between his former prince and little brother. If he wasn't mistaken, he was getting the feeling that Vegeta respected his brother as his superior in some way. But that was ridiculous. The Prince Vegeta he knew would never willing bow down to anyone, especially not a tailless third-class warrior. His eyebrow quirked when he saw his brother's tail peaking out behind him. Ok, so he wasn't tailless anymore. He would ask about that later.

Vegeta huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. There was no use in arguing with the third-class immortal. He couldn't even convince himself anymore that he hadn't changed for the better during his time on Earth.

"It was you two, wasn't it?"

Goku and Vegeta both turned their attention back to the third saiyan with eyebrows raised. They had no idea what Raditz was referring to. The blank stares they gave him led him to explain further.

"The other day there was obviously someone really powerful fighting. It was you."

Vegeta smirked while Goku grinned sheepishly. That was answer enough for the long-haired saiyan. He smiled a little, having come to the right conclusion. Leave it to his prince to become so outrageously powerful. And his brother… he knew a little bit about Goku's power from what he witnessed while he was in hell, but he never imagined he would actually be on par with the Prince of all Saiyans, the one who was destined to become the Legendary. Little did he know his younger brother was, for the most part, _stronger_ than the former prince. They were fairly evenly matched at the final level of super saiyan, but at every other level – except, perhaps, the base state – Goku was superior in strength.

Raditz looked between the two immortal saiyans with wide eyes, lifting his hand to point at them. "Exactly how powerful _are_ you? The whole planet was shaking."

The saiyan guardian shrugged. He had no idea how high their power levels were on the point system the scouters used. There really was no way to describe the magnitude of their power, not after they transcended the first transformation.

"Why don't you feel it?" he grinned mischievously.

"I can't feel power levels like my brother," Raditz admitted, somewhat embarrassed.

Vegeta scoffed. "It's not that hard to learn. I taught myself after my first… encounter… with the earthling warriors. Just calm your mind and focus on sensing out another person's energy."

"You make it sound so simple," Raditz grumbled.

"It is," Goku said cheerfully.

Raditz grumbled more under his breath as he closed his eyes and tried to calm his mind. It was difficult, considering he was standing in the presence of two saiyans he thought were long since dead and he would never see again. Yet there they were in the flesh, bantering like old friends. His concentration was definitely lacking.

"I can't do it."

Vegeta glanced over at Goku and his smirk broadened. "Maybe you just need a power level high enough to find easily."

Goku's lips twisted into a mirroring smirk when he realized what the saiyan god was implying they do. "Ready?"

"Always."

Without any explanation given to the third saiyan the two immortals clenched their fists and started raising their power levels. In an instant there was a bright flash and they were both surrounded by golden auras. Raditz stepped away from them, shielding his face from the wind whipping around him as their power levels continued to soar. The super saiyans screamed as they ascended to the next level, sparks of electricity crackling through the air around them.

"Is this far enough?" Goku asked.

"What do you think?"

"Alright then."

Raditz's jaw dropped when he saw their strange coloring. He didn't know for sure what it meant, but he had a pretty good idea. Their auras were growing and dissipating into the air around them like tongues of golden fire. It hurt his eyes to look at them as they glowed brighter when they again pushed their power higher still. He could feel his heart hammering in his chest as he fought to stay grounded on his feet.

He cracked his eyes open despite the billowing wind when he heard Vegeta laughing. It was an unfamiliar sound; rarely heard as it was, it rarely sounded so free of insanity and cruelty.

"Wow, you can see the family resemblance now, Kakarrot!"

"You're just jealous you can't reach this stage."

"No, but I can surpass it."

"Let's see it."

As their energy rose, Raditz was no longer able to stay on his feet. He was knocked to the ground and could only raise his arms to shield his face until it was all over. When the raging winds finally died down he lowered his arms and stared wide-eyed at the two saiyans standing in front of him. They were covered in red fur and their hair was longer. Even their eyes had changed color. He swallowed hard as he staggered back to his feet.

"What is this?"

"Super saiyan. Level four."

Raditz's mouth opened and closed but no sound came out for a few moments. He shook his head and tried again. "You're both super saiyans… and there are different levels?"

The two immortal saiyans nodded.

The old saiyan found himself at a loss for words again. His whole life he thought that it was nothing more than a legend on which to put his hope, but it was real. Not only was it real, it was incomplete. He stood there, seeing what no other saiyan in his time had even dreamed possible.

"Can you feel our power now?" Goku asked.

Raditz shook his head. He didn't have to feel it to know it was awesome. Simply seeing their transformation was enough to convince him that they were unbelievably strong.

Goku pouted. "Come on, Raditz, clear your mind. You can do it."

"No, _brother_, I can't," Raditz argued.

"Raditz, do it," Vegeta ordered. He wanted the mortal saiyan to learn the technique of sensing power levels so he could teach it to the other saiyans. It would be useful to them in the long run, and he didn't know if they would ever develop the ability on their own. He was taking his current opportunity to teach them indirectly. If Raditz could figure it out, then it would spread throughout the saiyan population eventually.

With a sigh of resignation, Raditz closed his eyes and tried to force all thoughts from his mind. Once he finally had, he tentatively reached out with his senses to search for the ki of the two saiyans standing in front of him. They waited patiently while he stretched his mind to do what he thought was impossible. They knew he was successful when he clutched his head in his hands and gave a howl of pain.

Vegeta laughed while Goku looked back and forth between the two older saiyans, confused about what could be so funny. "Too much energy, Raditz?" Vegeta asked through his laughter.

Raditz opened his eyes and glowered at his former prince. "You could have warned me it would feel like an explosion in my brain!"

Vegeta shrugged, his laughter dying into a chuckle. "I forgot what it was like the first time. Besides, I had no one with nearly so much power around when I was learning the technique. Kakarrot, lower your power back to normal."

"Why?"

"Just do it!"

With an indignant huff, Goku dropped out of his ascension. He crossed his arms and pouted when he saw that Vegeta was still a super saiyan four. He didn't like being left out of the fun very well.

"Raditz, can you sense the difference in our power levels?" Vegeta asked once Goku's hair shortened and his eyes returned to black.

Again, the aging saiyan closed his eyes and reached out with his senses to feel the ki levels of his brother and prince. He nodded and smiled a little when he felt the enormous difference in power between Vegeta and Goku.

"Good." Vegeta, then, dropped his ki back to his base level and raised it slightly higher than Goku's current level. "Now which of us is stronger?"

It took a couple minutes, but Raditz was finally able to discern the slight difference. "You are."

Vegeta nodded, satisfied. It would take more practice for Raditz to become truly proficient at sensing power levels, but he at least had a start. It was surprisingly easy to do once one figured out how to do it. He was surprised he never thought about it before he went to Earth. He always blindly relied on his scouter to tell him power levels. He sneered when he remembered a few instances in his past when he nearly died because of that reliance. Scouters were durable, but they weren't impossible to break, and his had a few times. That left him nearly helpless on more than one mission.

"We need to leave this place. I want no one to know that you met me, even if they wouldn't know who I am. There might be someone else who has memories of the past. Teach as many as you can to sense power levels. If anyone asks how you learned, tell them you figured it out while training yourself here."

"Yes, sir."

Goku scratched the back of his head and grinned. "It was nice to see you again, brother. Especially since you're not evil and stuff anymore."

Raditz raised an eyebrow at his little brother and shrugged. "Nice seeing you too, I guess."

"Let's go," Vegeta said to the other immortal saiyan.

"Wait!" Raditz shouted before they could take off into the air. "Prince Vegeta, where are you going? How are you here if you're not living among us? I don't understand."

Vegeta frowned a little. "I can't tell you. Maybe when you die you'll find out. I'm not among the saiyans, but I'm always here watching over them. I would never leave me people to their own foolish devices."

"You could be our prince. Our king!"

"No," Vegeta countered, "A new royal line will begin. It would be unfair for me to take the throne and never give it up to new generations. They're going to have to lead themselves."

"Never give it up?"

"I'm immortal, Raditz."

The long-haired saiyan's jaw dropped. "Immortal? You mean you got to make your wish?"

"No. It's a long story that I can't tell you."

"And you, Kakarrot?"

Goku grinned. "I'm immortal, too."

Raditz was awestruck. Here he was, walking with the gods and he didn't even know it. Even if those gods happened to be his old comrade and his little brother he never knew. He couldn't wrap his mind around it. "Oh. Well… I see."

Goku laughed and waved as he took off into the air, followed closely by Vegeta. "Bye, brother! Stay good!"

A while later the two immortal saiyans landed on the Lookout. They both knew what was coming, and neither of them was happy about it. Still, Goku felt he had no choice but to leave. This was not his planet and he felt no need to stay there. He enjoyed being able to see his old friend again for a short while, but he was ready to move one. Besides, he would be back for another visit eventually.

"I suppose you're leaving now?" Vegeta stated more than asked.

Goku nodded once. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at the new red tile floor. There wasn't much he could say. "I will be back. I promise."

"Have you been to Earth recently?" Vegeta asked out of the blue.

"No. Why?"

"You should go back. You should see your family. And mine." Vegeta looked away. He didn't want the younger saiyan to see the emotions he couldn't keep from surfacing.

A broad grin broke out across Goku's somber face. He just figured out what he could do to cheer Vegeta up.

_A/N: I figured that posting a new chapter in this story was a great way to relax after baking 558 cupcakes. Sometimes working in a bakery is tedious. Anyway, since Rediscovering Honor is complete, I'll probably be working more on this for a while. I think writing chapter by chapter is a lot more difficult than writing it all out in one huge document before posting anything. So, sorry about the infrequent, unpredictable updates on this._

_I know I always say this, but I really appreciate reviews on this story in particular! It's a hard one for me to write despite having the idea for it, so I love feedback on how I'm doing._


	6. Family Reunion

Family Reunion

Goku watched as Vegeta started walking toward his palace. He quickly formed a plan in his head, not sure how it would actually pan out, but not caring to consider the consequences or drawbacks. He raised his fingers to his forehead and searched for an old, familiar ki. As soon as he locked on to it he disappeared, leaving Vegeta behind, alone to watch over his planet.

The first thing he heard when he rematerialized was a startled shout followed by the excited chattering of a monkey. He smiled when he saw his former sensei and waved in greeting. "Hey, King Kai! I'm on my way to Earth. Do you know what direction it is?"

King Kai considered chiding Goku for dropping in without warning, but decided it was pointless anyway. The saiyan would never learn. Instead, he pointed to his right. "It's that way. And hello to you too, Goku."

"Thanks, King Kai!" Goku tuned his senses in the direction the blue god indicated and searched for the ki signatures of someone he might recognize. He frowned when he couldn't find any of them, not even his granddaughter Pan. They weren't there. Sometimes he forgot how long it had actually been since he'd visited Earth. Well, he could still find someone whose ki he recognized, it would just be harder to find since it was comparatively low.

'There you are.' Goku honed in on the weak ki and teleported from Otherworld to Earth.

"Goku? Is that really you?"

The immortal saiyan spun around when he heard the old man's voice behind him. He grinned and scratched the back of his head. "Hey there, Dende, how's it going?"

Dende, who was now old, yellowed, and wrinkled, looked more like the former guardian of Earth than the young Namekian Goku remembered. He leaned heavily on his staff with each step he took toward the father of his closest friend. "Everything is good here. We've enjoyed many years of peace."

"Glad to hear it. Do you know where I can find Vegeta's family?"

"Vegeta's family?" Dende raised a brow. "Don't you want to see your own?"

Goku rubbed his neck. "Well, yeah, of course. But I need to find Vegeta's family first. I want him to be able to meet them."

"What are you talking about? Vegeta died over a hundred years ago."

"Yeah, well, he's not dead. He's actually immortal, too."

"Vegeta's immortal?" Dende shouted.

Goku laughed at the Guardian of Earth's reaction. He was as surprised as he had been when he first learned that Vegeta had become a god. He nodded. "Yup! He's the guardian of his own planet now. Wild, huh?"

"That's an understatement," Dende mumbled. He shook his head. "Anyway, if you want to find his family you just have to go to Capsule Corporation. It's still there. It's a lot bigger now, but it's in the same place."

"Thanks, Dende! It was good seeing you again!" Goku called as he leaped off the edge of the Lookout and took off toward West City. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, reacquainting himself with the only place he would ever call home. He missed it, really, but that was never enough to make him come back. He had too much exploring to do. Once he'd seen the whole universe then maybe, maybe he would return to Earth and settle down for good. Maybe. He descended when he saw West City below. He wondered if the Briefs would know who he was. He shrugged and refused to worry about it.

Goku landed on the sidewalk outside the main gate to the Capsule Corporation compound. He whistled when he saw how much it had grown. The same yellow domed building was still in the middle of it all, but there were many more buildings constructed around it, most of them much larger than the original structure. The gates were open and a multitude of people were meandering throughout the corporation grounds, most of them wearing white lab coats with the Capsule Corp emblem on the left breast. Goku walked in, though he had no idea where to look for Vegeta's descendants. He figured the best place to begin his search was at the main building.

The gardens were much smaller now. He wondered what Mrs. Brief would have thought about that had she seen it. Likely she would have been rather upset. It took her years to get them just right and she was constantly tending them lest a weed sprout up or a flower not get enough water. Goku chuckled at the memory as he reached the front door of the original compound.

As he raised his hand to knock on the door, it swung open and he was nearly plowed over as two children ran outside followed by a young woman with blue, spiky hair. "Hey you two!" she screeched. Goku covered his ears with his hands. She gave him an apologetic look before marching after the two little ruffians. "Get back here this instant!"

The woman growled in frustration when she was ignored. Goku burst into laughter and came up behind her. "Excuse me, but would you like me to get them for you?"

She looked him up and down and snorted. "Go for it. But I'm warning you, they're not easy to catch."

"I guess that's probably true. They _are_ part saiyan, right?" Goku smiled and phased out of sight, leaving the blue-haired woman gaping. She didn't know who he was, but somehow he knew about her saiyan heritage.

A few seconds later he reappeared with her kids tucked under his arms. She stared at him a moment, unable to find words. Finally, her shock wore off and she was able to communicate again. "Who are you?"

"My name is Goku."

"Goku? As in Uncle Goku's great-great grandfather? That's impossible."

"Uncle Goku? I don't know if he was named after me, but it's possible. I haven't been to Earth for a couple centuries."

The woman's eyebrow raised. "A couple centuries? Look, bud, I don't know who you think you are, but you're crazy. Would you please put my kids down and leave?"

Goku set the kids down. He almost expected them to try running away again, but they were as bewildered as their mother and didn't move. They stared up at him. He was super fast. Faster than their mother, even. That was impressive. And scary. Definitely scary.

"I can't leave," he said, "I want to take you to see Vegeta."

The woman put her hands on her hips and glared at Goku. Aside from her hair being spiky and her features more angular, she was the spitting image of Bulma. Goku had to force himself not to laugh at the resemblance. "My father lives with us here. I don't have to go anywhere to see him. What are you talking about?"

Goku rubbed his neck and cocked his head. "Huh? But how can Vegeta be here? He's on Vegeta-sei."

"What the hell are you talking about?" the woman screamed, losing patience. Goku couldn't help but smile when he saw his rival's temper in her.

"I guess it's a different Vegeta. I'm talking about Vegeta, the Prince of all Saiyans. Well, he _was _the prince, but now –"

"How do you know about the saiyans?"

"Huh? Well, I am a saiyan."

"The saiyans are all dead."

"Not anymore. The Supreme Kai brought them back and now there's a bunch of them on Veget—"

"The Supreme Kai?"

"Yeah, Kibitoshin. Haven't you heard of him?"

"Only in stories." The woman crossed her arms over her chest. She didn't know what to make of the stranger. Here he was, digging up old stories passed down through the generations as if he knew them by heart. Hell, he talked about it as if he was part of the stories. Well, he _did_ say he was Goku, but how could that be possible? Goku was about the same age as her great-great-great grandfather. He would have died long ago. This man standing in front of her was very much alive.

"So what's your name, anyway, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Garta."

"It's nice to meet you, Garta," Goku said, extending his hand to shake. "You said your father is still alive? And he's here?"

"Yes." For some reason Garta was having trouble finding reason not to trust Goku.

"Great! I know this is really sudden, but could you find him? I want to take you all to see Vegeta. The other Vegeta. I think he'd like to meet you all."

"Boxer," Garta said, eyes still fixed on her mysterious visitor, "Go find your grandfather."

The boy at Goku's side nodded and ran inside the compound. Goku was struck by how much he resembled Trunks. Aside from having black hair instead of lavender, he could have been a clone. He had the same piercing blue eyes and Vegeta's sharp features. It seemed the saiyan genes remained dominant no matter how diluted they were.

The remaining three waited in awkward silence for a few minutes before the door opened again and an old man with spiky, graying hair and a prominent widow's peak stepped outside followed closely by Boxer. The man raised an eyebrow when he saw Goku.

"Well," he said dryly, "He has the same hair as the other clown."

Goku laughed and scratched his head. "Really? Man, you sound just like Vegeta."

"How do you know him?" Vegeta Jr. asked.

"Oh, gosh," Goku said, "We go way back. We fought many battles together. Of course we met when he came to Earth and he was going to use the dragonballs to wish for immortality and I had to fight him to stop him, but we're friends now."

Vegeta Jr. was dumbstruck. "Is it true you want to take us to see him? How is that possible? He's dead."

Goku shook his head. "Nope, not dead. He's immortal, like me."

"Wait, wait, wait," Garta interjected, "You're _immortal_?"

"Yeah."

"I can't believe this," she muttered.

"Well, come on! Grab hold of me and we'll go visit him now."

Hesitantly, Vegeta Jr., Garta, and her kids laid their hands on him. He raised his fingers to his forehead and searched for Vegeta's ki signature. Now that he knew it was still there, somewhere in the universe, it was much easier to find. After a minute of searching he found it and transmitted himself and his passengers to the Lookout of Vegeta-sei.

"What?" Garta shrieked, "Where are we?"

"Vegeta-sei. I can't bring Vegeta to see you since he's the guardian here, but I can bring you to see him. Let me go find him. Wait here!" Goku ran to the center palace and disappeared inside. It was late evening and Vegeta was probably eating his daily meal.

Garta turned to her father and grabbed her children's hands. "Is this for real?"

Vegeta Jr. surveyed the area. The sky was dark red and they were standing on the grounds of a large palace unlike any he had ever seen before. It definitely wasn't Earth. He nodded. "I think so."

"Kakarrot, you fool, what do you think you're doing?"

The four hybrids whirled around when they heard someone shouting at the entrance of the palace. Whoever it was certainly didn't sound happy.

"Relax, 'Geta, I got some visitors here you might want to meet," they heard Goku's voice say calmly.

"Don't be ridiculous! Who could I possibly want to see? Damnit, I'm trying to eat!"

Goku gave Vegeta one last shove out the door to the platform. Vegeta stumbled forward before regaining his balance. He scowled at his friend over his shoulder before crossing his arms over his chest and walking out to see who he was supposed to meet. He stopped in his tracks when he saw the four people standing there.

"Kakarrot, what the hell is going on here?" he breathed.

Goku walked over to the earthlings and gestured for Vegeta to come closer. "Vegeta, meet Vegeta Jr., Garta, Boxer, and… what's your name?"

The girl who had yet to say a word through the whole ordeal frowned and stuck her tongue out at Goku. "My name is Corsetta, you dummy."

Ignoring the insult, Goku finished his introduction. "And Corsetta. Guys, this is Vegeta, your great-great… some number of greats grandpa."

Vegeta came closer to his visitors. He reached his hand out to Garta and stroked her cheek. "You look so much like Bulma," he whispered.

"Is it true, then?" Vegeta Jr. asked. "You're really him? My great-great grandfather?"

"So it would seem," Vegeta answered.

"Oh, wow! This is so cool!" Boxer exclaimed as he launched himself at Vegeta and wrapped his short arms around his neck. "So that means you're my great-great-great-great grandpa, right?"

Vegeta grabbed the back of the boy's shirt and yanked him off. He held him at eye level and quirked an eyebrow. "When did saiyans go so soft?"

"I want a hug too!" Corsetta pouted.

Vegeta looked down at her and laughed. If he didn't know any better, he could have sworn she was Bra when she was four years old. The only difference was this girl had lavender hair and black eyes shaped like his own. "Definitely more human than saiyan," he concluded. Still, he knelt down and, after setting Boxer back on his feet, pulled Corsetta into an embrace with one arm.

"Are we really on another planet?" Boxer asked.

"We're not on Earth, if that's what you mean," Vegeta replied.

"Awesome!" Boxer ran to the edge of the Lookout and nearly fell off. He looked down and lost his ability to make coherent sentences. It wasn't long before Corsetta ran after him to see what he was looking at.

"So you're really immortal, huh?" Vegeta Jr. asked. "Then where's Bulma?"

The smile that had been tugging at Vegeta's lips fell. He sighed heavily and gazed up at the crimson sky. "She's dead. In heaven."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring that—"

"It's fine, boy. You can come inside if you'd like. I'm going to finish my meal." Vegeta turned and went back inside. He resented his mate being asked about. Did it have to be automatically assumed that because he was immortal she was too? He wished that were so, but that's not the way it worked. He sat down at the table where his meal was laid out before him and resumed eating. Whether or not his descendants followed him was unimportant. Sure, he wanted to see them, but he was hungry and it was a bit of a shock to have them suddenly appear in his life.

"Nice going, Dad," Garta said, elbowing her father in the ribs. "Let's go."

"What did I do?" Vegeta Jr. grumbled. He went with his daughter into the palace. Neither of them knew which way to go to find their ancestor, but they found him soon enough by following the scent of food.

Vegeta saw them come in the kitchen, but he didn't stop eating to acknowledge them. He noticed their discomfort, but he didn't know how to put them at ease. Surely they were as bewildered as he was. 'Kakarrot is such an idiot,' he thought. 'Why did he think this would go over well? And speak of the devil…'

Goku appeared in the kitchen behind Garta and Vegeta Jr. and walked over to the table where he took a seat across from Vegeta. He reached for a bowl of rice, but he was stopped when the older saiyan grabbed his wrist and gave him a warning growl.

"Oh come on, Vegeta, I'm hungry!" he whined.

"Get your own damn food."

Goku pouted. "I don't know how to cook."

"Tough luck."

"Fine." Goku huffed and stood up to see what food was in the pantry. There was the sound of jars rattling around for a few minutes. Then he poked his head out and addressed Garta and Vegeta Jr. "Hey, are you guys hungry?"

"Uh, no, I'm fine, thanks," Garta answered.

"Oh, well ok then. You can sit down if you'd like."

"Thanks." Garta and her father walked over to the table and sat down. They still didn't feel entirely comfortable. They were in the house – palace, rather – of their ancestor who was not only immortal, but a god. That was a lot to take in. They stared wide-eyed at the amount of food Vegeta was consuming. They had large appetites, but that was in comparison to humans. They would never be able to eat as much as he was packing away in one sitting. At least there was no doubt about where their inhuman appetites originated anymore. No one ever really explained that it was their saiyan genes that made them so hungry all the time.

"So this is Vegeta-sei? I always thought it was destroyed centuries ago," Vegeta Jr. said. The least he could do was try to make conversation.

Vegeta nodded, though he didn't bother pausing in his eating to explain. They could talk after he was finished with his meal. Until then, they would have to wait to have their curiosity satisfied. He cracked open some sort of crustacean and pulled out the white meat, dipped it in some sort of sauce, and shoved it in his mouth. Garta and Vegeta Jr. grimaced at the display. He didn't have the best manners they had ever seen. Wasn't he supposed to be a prince? And a god? He acted more like a wild barbarian.

They turned when they heard Goku coming out of the pantry, arms loaded with more food than they had ever seen at one time. It was even more food than what Vegeta was eating. Their eyebrows raised.

"Is he really going to eat all that?" Garta whispered to her father.

Vegeta Jr. nodded dumbly.

Goku shoved Vegeta's dishes to one side of the table and dropped his food. He threw the pieces of meat in the air and blasted them with small balls of ki. He caught the roasted meat and set it on the table. He went to the stove to start a pot of rice, never noticing the incredulous expressions he was receiving from the hybrids.

The younger immortal was still eating when Vegeta finished his food. He gathered his dirty dishes and carried them to the sink to wash later. Normally he would wash them as soon as he was finished with them, but he had family visiting. His shock was ebbing and he was eager to find out more about them. He sat down at the table and, doing his best to ignore the disgusting eating habits of his old rival, turned his attention to his descendants. He figured the best way to start a conversation was to explain exactly how he was there, on Vegeta-sei.

"As you said, Vegeta-sei was destroyed centuries ago. More precisely, when I was five years old."

"Then how are we here?" Garta asked.

Vegeta frowned at her. His great-great-whatever granddaughter or not, he did not like being interrupted. He rarely tolerated interruptions from anyone aside from Bulma. "If you would shut up and let me explain you might learn something."

"Sorry. Go on."

Vegeta crossed his arms over his chest and continued, "Frieza completely obliterated the planet and the entire saiyan race aside from myself, Nappa, Raditz, and this clown." He nodded his head toward Goku. "When I died about a century ago, the Supreme Kai made me immortal and gave me the new position as guardian of this planet, which was recently created to be an exact replica of the old Vegeta-sei. He also went to hell and gave a few hundred saiyans new lives without any memories of their old lives. Essentially, he started the saiyan race anew."

"But why?" Garta asked. She covered her mouth with her hand when Vegeta gave her a stern look.

"Supposedly the saiyans are prophesied to save the universe or some shit like that in the future. I am their guardian because it is my penance. Eventually, I will supposedly be redeemed through the saiyans and I will be allowed to go to Otherworld and spend eternity in heaven. That's the only reason I accepted this stupid job."

"Why wouldn't you go to heaven?" Vegeta Jr. asked. "I thought you helped save the universe when you were alive."

Vegeta snorted. "I see some stories have been lost through the generations. I wasn't always a _good guy._"

"What do you mean?"

"I spent the first thirty years of my life killing people. As a soldier in Frieza's army I was forced to purge entire planets of civilization."

Goku set his bowl of rice down and looked between Vegeta and the mortals. He could see the unease creeping back. "Vegeta, maybe you shouldn't tell them…"

"They have a right to know," Vegeta snapped. He raked his hand through his hair. "Why should it be kept a secret?"

"How many people did you kill?" Garta asked. She was afraid to know, but her interest was piqued.

"Billions."

"B-billions?"

Vegeta sighed and nodded. He wasn't going to deny what he did. He wasn't proud of his actions, but he wasn't one to sugar coat things or omit the truth. Besides, if he didn't tell them what he did, how would they ever understand why he was there, serving as guardian of the saiyans? How would they understand why he had to be redeemed?

"Now you see why I'm here. I somehow have to make up for all my sins in my life. I already have some points stacked up on the good side from my actions while I was still alive, but there's still many debts to be repaid. I'm going to be a guardian for millennia at this rate. I would rather just die and be done with it, but I have been given the chance to go to heaven where I can be with my woman."

"You mean Bulma?" Vegeta Jr. asked.

"Yes."

Garta banged her fist against the table. "But that's not fair! You said you were a soldier. You _had_ to do what you did, right? How can you be punished for that?"

"Don't be foolish, girl. I did what I did because I had to, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it. And anyway, I also had the choice to kill myself rather than serve that lizard."

"But you helped save the universe!"

"For selfish reasons. I did it to save my family and my pride more than to help the universe."

"Oh."

"Yeah," Goku said, "But you still helped more than anyone else in the fight against Buu. If it weren't for you we never would have beat him."

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "If it weren't for me he never would have been revived in the first place."

"Maybe. We don't know that. And anyway, even if it was your fault he was released, you're still the one that came up with the plan that stopped him."

"You could have defeated him without my help if you hadn't held back to give me a chance to fight him."

"Possibly. It doesn't matter if I could have done it or not, the point is I didn't. You're really the one behind his defeat. I never would have thought of using the Namekian dragonballs and asking the people of Earth to contribute energy for a spirit bomb. That was pure genius."

"I appreciate the praise, Kakarrot," Vegeta grumbled, "but I don't deserve it. I was a selfish bastard back then."

Goku shrugged. "I don't know. I think that's when you really became a good guy."

"Whatever."

The conversation died for a few minutes. Vegeta and Goku were tired of arguing. They had been going back and forth on that subject for years. Neither was willing to admit the other was right, and they probably never would. Garta and Vegeta Jr. had nothing to say. Even though they heard all the stories from their parents and grandparents, they were still awestruck to hear about the battle with Buu from the two saiyans who actually fought him.

"So answer me this. Do you fight?" Vegeta asked.

Vegeta Jr. laughed a little. "I used to, years ago. I stopped when I took over the company."

"And you?"

"I did a little. I was never very interested in it," Garta answered.

Vegeta scoffed. "So human."

"Well, excuse me," she snapped. "I happen to be much more human than saiyan. And anyway, you might be interested to know that Boxer and Corsetta both enjoy fighting. Though it seems to be the trend that us hybrids only enjoy fighting when we're young."

"So it would seem. That's how it was with Trunks and Bra. And Kakarrot's brats." Vegeta sighed. He was actually glad the saiyans were revived for a change. He couldn't count on his and Kakarrot's posterity to uphold the pride of the saiyan race. They were weaklings. They didn't care about fighting any more than any human.

"We're still stronger than the average human," Vegeta Jr. growled. He didn't train anymore, but he still didn't want to be grouped with the weakling full-blooded humans.

Vegeta smirked when he saw a streak of saiyan pride still running strong. "And that's supposed to impress me? Humans are pathetic creatures."

"Oh really?" Garta hissed. "Then why did you marry one?"

"She was more saiyan than human in some ways," Vegeta replied. "She was weak physically, but she could match me in a verbal spar any day."

Garta stood up and walked out of the kitchen. "I'm going to check up on Boxer and Corsetta."

Vegeta Jr. scowled at his ancestor. He didn't want anyone to upset his daughter, even if that person was his great-great grandfather. He crossed his arms over his chest, perfectly mirroring the man he never met before that day. His ki flared a little. "Your social skills could use some work."

Vegeta laughed. "So I've been told."

Goku laughed as well. He'd heard the same comment being made by all of Vegeta's family more times than he could count. And it wasn't as if he couldn't agree. Vegeta had a prickly personality. It took a long time to get used to him. Some people never did.

The younger Vegeta was not pleased. "You know you're like a legend in our family. But I can't see why. Sure, you might be incredibly powerful, but you don't care about your own family's feelings! Are you always like this?"

Vegeta stopped laughing abruptly and growled instead. He didn't care about his family's feelings? His eyes narrowed. "Listen, boy. I care about my family more than anything in the universe. It's not my fault you've all gone so soft you can't handle what I say."

"What about Garta? You're mocking us for acting like humans! Newsflash, old man, we're mostly human!"

"Hey, guys," Goku interrupted, standing and waving his hands in the air defensively. "Calm down. It's not a big deal. Vegeta didn't mean to insult anyone."

Vegeta Jr. also stood up and sneered at Goku. "Shut up, you clown! If he didn't mean to offend us then he could have kept his mouth shut!"

"Get over it, _boy_." Vegeta flicked his tongue over his canine when his great-great grandson's ki flared up around him.

"Stop calling me that," Vegeta. Jr. snarled.

"What? Boy? It's what you are. You're acting like a child so I'll treat you like one."

"I am not a child!"

"Then stop acting like one."

"Guys, seriously!" Goku shouted. "What is wrong with you?"

"Shut up!" the Vegetas shouted back.

Vegeta's tail uncoiled from his waist and twitched playfully behind him. When Goku saw it, he stepped back and smiled. He knew what Vegeta was doing. Purposely goading his descendant into a fight. Making him mad enough to have to defend his honor. It was a sneaky, nasty thing to do, but that was how Vegeta operated. It almost never failed. He'd seen him pull the same stunt with Trunks when he got older and gave up training. He saw him do it to his own sons, and even Bra a time or two. Vegeta understood saiyan pride better than anyone and knew exactly how to manipulate it. This was Vegeta's way of bonding with his family. Fighting. Beating each other up. Saiyans spoke better with their fists than their lips.

"You had better apologize to Garta," Vegeta Jr. growled.

Vegeta scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Apologize for what? Calling her weak? She is! You all are! Where is your pride?"

"I'll show you pride!" Vegeta Jr. clenched his hands into fists and hurled himself at his great-great grandfather.

Vegeta easily sidestepped the charging hybrid and laughed when he crashed into the wall behind him. "You call that an attack? Pathetic!"

Vegeta Jr. was done talking. He was not going to accept any more insults thrown his way. He powered up until his hair flashed gold and his black eyes turned teal. He charged Vegeta again and punched his jaw. He smirked when he got a solid hit, but it soon faded when the elder Vegeta showed no signs of pain. Actually, his head didn't even turn.

"So, this is what the legendary status of super saiyan has been reduced to? A little boy throwing weak punches that couldn't harm a fly?" Vegeta grabbed the fist that was still extended and spun around a few times, building momentum before letting go, sending his great-great grandson hurtling through the wall. He landed on the platform on his back and skidded to a halt near the edge of the Lookout.

Goku threw his head back and laughed until he doubled over and gasped for air. How many times had he been on the receiving end of that particular barb? It didn't matter because it never failed to make his blood boil. Seeing Vegeta using it on someone else was entertaining for him. He was definitely going to see a good fight. He followed Vegeta through the new hole in the wall and watched as Vegeta Jr. staggered to his feet and took his fighting stance. It was similar to Vegeta's, but it had some obvious influence from Goku's family. It was definitely flawed, too.

"You think you're ready for this, boy?" Vegeta taunted.

"What the hell is going on?" Garta shouted as she ran over to see what the ruckus was about. She nearly fell over when she saw her father powered up to super saiyan facing off against Vegeta. She was soon joined by Boxer and Corsetta at her side. They immediately broke into cheers for their great-great-great-great grandfather. They stuck their tongues out when their grandfather glowered at them.

"Stay out of this, Garta," Vegeta Jr. said. He shot forward to engage in more hand-to-hand combat with his ancestor. He was knocked aside in less than a second. Instead of giving up, he rose to his feet and tried again.

"Are you even trying?" Vegeta snorted.

"Shut up!" Vegeta Jr. got up and decided to take a different approach. He gathered energy in both hands and hurled it at Vegeta, only to have it batted into the sky where it exploded in a bright flash of light.

Vegeta phased behind him and swept his feet out from under him. "You could at least make me put a little effort into this fight."

He blocked a ki blast aimed at his chest and dodged a flurry of kicks and punches. He ducked under a roundhouse kick and caught the other leg as it swung forward toward his chin. He darted into the air, pulling his descendant along behind him, then threw him high above and shot him with a small beam of ki.

"Are you crazy?" Garta screamed. "You're going to kill him!"

Vegeta slowly lowered himself back down to the Lookout and crossed his arms over his chest. He looked up, searching for the super saiyan. He didn't see him anywhere. He whirled around and caught Vegeta Jr's arm when his fist was inches away from him.

"Nice try, but you'll have to do better than that to beat me. If you haven't noticed, I haven't even ascended to super saiyan yet."

"Why can't I beat you?" Vegeta Jr. snarled as he pulled his arm free.

"Your emotions are making you sloppy. Well, it could be that you're rusty since you don't train anymore. Or were you ever a decent fighter?" Vegeta smirked, knowing he struck a nerve when he felt another spike in his descendant's ki.

"Just because I don't train doesn't mean I'm weak!"

"You seem weak to me."

"Take that back!"

"Make me."

Vegeta Jr. hit Vegeta with a right hook that actually made him lose his balance. Seeing his opportunity, he phased behind him, clasped his hands together, and brought them down on Vegeta's head in a double ax handle. Seeing his ancestor floored, he extended his hands in front of him, palms out, and started gathering energy in his hands. Before Vegeta could get up he shot a strong beam of ki at him, making a direct hit.

Vegeta, rather than being angry, grinned when the beam of ki died out. He started chuckling, quietly at first, but it grew until he was laughing wholeheartedly. He pushed himself up to his hands and knees and his tail flicked behind him.

"Here we go," Goku whispered to himself. He held his arm in front of his face right as Vegeta powered up. His energy whipped around them, nearly knocking everyone off their feet. His aura blazed golden as he ascended to the first level of super saiyan.

"That's how you want to play, huh?" Vegeta asked his great-great grandson. "So be it. But I warn you, any chance you had of winning is gone."

Vegeta Jr. backpedaled a few steps before regaining his composure. He sank into his fighting stance, ready to start another round. He felt his rage burning in his chest and drew power from it. He would not be humiliated by anyone, especially not some arrogant bastard. He didn't care who he was. No one talked to him and his family like they were trash. He rushed forward and phased out of sight right before he reached Vegeta. He reappeared behind his ancestor, who had crossed his arms in front of himself to block the oncoming attack and threw a ki blast at his back. His eyes widened when the ki passed straight through him. It was an afterimage!

"Looking for someone?" Vegeta hooked his right arm around his great-great grandson's neck and gripped his right hand with his left. Holding him in a chokehold, he could feel his ki raising higher with his anger. "That's right, boy. Get mad. You want to hurt me, don't you? You hate that you can't hurt me. You can't beat me. It's tearing your pride apart, isn't it?"

Vegeta Jr. tried to free himself by elbowing his assailant, but his elbow was blocked by Vegeta's left hand. His neck was constricted as Vegeta's right arm tightened its hold around him. He gasped for air and struggled to break free, but the more he moved the tighter the hold on his neck became. His lungs were burning as he fought to fill them with oxygen.

"You feel it, don't you?" Vegeta whispered in his ear, "You feel the rush. You're mostly human, boy, but you're still saiyan. You love this. You live for a good challenge."

Vegeta released his great-great grandson, who fell to the floor and rubbed his throat with one hand while he gulped in as much air as he could. He coughed a few times. He was definitely going to have a nasty bruise on his neck when this was all said and done. He slowly rose to his feet and turned around to face his ancestor. A smirk spread across his face. He could have been Vegeta's clone.

"You know, I think you're right, _old man_."

Each Vegeta disappeared an instant later. There was a shockwave that came from the sky as they resumed their fight. This time, though, it was for the pure enjoyment of the fight. Vegeta Jr. realized what Goku knew all along. He was being egged on for the sake of starting a fight. He was being shown what he never fully understood before. The restlessness he often felt, the reason he was always so bored. The reason he felt he was missing something significant in his life. He never knew what it meant to rise to a true challenge.

"Ok, what did I miss?" Garta mumbled to herself as she searched the sky for the two super saiyans.

Goku grinned. "I think Vegeta Jr. just rediscovered his love of fighting."

"What do you mean?"

The immortal saiyan shrugged, but the knowing smile never left his face. He looked up and followed the fight. His eyes moved with the fight, easily keeping up with their speed. He could see Vegeta was holding back, but he was more than able to hold his own against Vegeta Jr. It was a long time before Vegeta Jr. dropped out of his ascended state and returned to the Lookout, breathing hard. He was bloodied and bruised, but he was smiling.

Vegeta phased in next to him and was about to strike when Vegeta Jr. held up his hands in surrender. "Stop! I concede!"

Vegeta snorted. "Weakling."

"Hey, give me a break. I haven't fought in years."

"Oh my kami! Dad, are you alright?" Garta yelled as she ran over to him.

"I'm fine, Garta."

Boxer and Corsetta ignored their grandfather. Instead, they ran over to Vegeta and latched onto him before he could defend himself.

"That was the coolest fight ever!"

"Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"I can't believe you beat grandpa! You must be really super strong!"

"You're the best! Can I spar with you?"

Vegeta pulled the kids off and held them at arm's length. He was rather amused, but he didn't let it show – too much. "I don't have time for a spar tonight. Maybe another time."

He dropped them and stalked over to the edge of the Lookout and sat down on the edge. Corsetta and Boxer landed on their feet and ran to their grandfather, babbling excitedly about his fight with Vegeta.

"What's he doing?" Garta asked.

"Checking up on the saiyans," Goku answered. "It's best to leave him alone while he's doing that. So, are you guys hungry?"

Vegeta cleared his mind and opened his link to the minds of the saiyans down below. He sensed anxiety, fear, and anger from many of them. They were the tribe being attacked. He listened in on some of their thoughts and found that, more than anything, they were confused about why they were being attacked by the other tribe. They didn't think it was at all justified. Moving his attention to the attacking tribe, he found that they were quickly becoming overconfident. They had a major victory that day as the fight began. He doubted the battle would be over so easily. The other tribe wouldn't roll over and let them win without putting up some resistance.

'We have to be careful with our next attack. They know we're here now and they'll be ready for us. Don't forget they have Nappa on their side.'

Vegeta's eyebrow raised. So that was where the idiot muscle-head was.

'So what if he is? He's too old to be a threat anymore! He may have been the strongest in his prime, but he's weak now.'

'Don't underestimate him.'

'I could take him!'

'Shut up, you idiot. You're not half as strong as him.'

'Oh really?'

'Really.'

Vegeta rolled his eyes. They were drunk on the sweet taste of victory. Their blood was loaded with adrenaline and now they were going to start fighting amongst themselves. It wasn't surprising. It wasn't uncommon for brawls to break out in the saiyan army after a long, well-fought battle. He was feeling the same adrenaline rush as they were from his fight with Vegeta Jr. He turned his attention from the fighting tribes and checked up on the five other tribes. Some of them had heard about the starting dispute and were talking about getting involved. Others wanted to stay out of it. Let the idiots duke it out. When they were both weakened from fighting they could step in and steal away their territory.

"This could get interesting," he commented to himself. He closed his mental link and stretched his arms over his head. "Can't wait to see what happens tomorrow."

He stood up and walked into his palace. He heard talking in the kitchen and went to see what was going on. He found Vegeta Jr., Garta, Corsetta, and Boxer sitting around the table eating. Goku was sitting on the counter next to the sink watching them eat. A dribble of drool was oozing from the corner of his mouth.

Vegeta went over to the sink and started washing the dishes from his dinner. "Thank you, Kakarrot."

"Huh?"

"For bringing them here."

"Oh," Goku said, scratching the back of his head, "No problem, 'Geta."

"Hn."

Garta finished eating and sat back in her seat with a contented sigh. "We're going to have to go back to Earth soon, Goku."

Vegeta's shoulders tensed and the plate he was washing cracked. He wasn't foolish enough to believe they would stay. Of course they had to go home. They had their own lives. He hadn't even really expected them to stay the night. Time was different on Earth than Vegeta-sei. More time had passed there. It was going to be morning there soon, time to go to work running the biggest corporation on the planet.

"But Mom, I want to stay here!" Boxer whined.

She smiled at him and patted his head. "Now honey, you know you have school in the morning. We need to get you home."

"What about me? Can I stay? I don't have school," Corsetta said.

"Yes, Corsetta, you have to go home too."

Tears welled up in the girl's eyes. She jumped out of her seat and ran over to Vegeta. She threw her arms around his leg and shook her head. "But I love Great-Grandpa Vegeta!"

Vegeta looked down at the girl attached to his leg and was struck by her resemblance to Bra. Whenever Bulma told her something she didn't like she ran to him, crying, and grabbed his leg in the exact same way. His heart melted when he saw her tears. His tail unwound from his waist and wrapped around her.

"Don't be silly, girl," he said gently, "You don't want to stay here. It's actually rather boring."

"Nuh uh! You're here!"

Moved as he was that she had grown attached to him so easily, he wasn't going to let her stay with him. "You can visit me again someday."

"I don't want to leave."

Vegeta picked her up and cradled her in his arms. "I know you don't, but sometimes we have to do things we don't want to do. I don't want you to leave, but you would miss your family more than me if you stayed while they went home."

"Is that the same man you fought?" Garta whispered to her father.

"I think so."

Goku was not nearly as surprised at the others. He had seen the same tenderness when Bra was a little girl. She was Vegeta's princess. She could do no wrong in his eyes and he would show her affection regardless of who was around to see it. She had him wrapped around her little finger and could string him along wherever she wanted. Vegeta willingly complied to her demands. It seemed Corsetta was having the same effect on him. He was already treating her like the most precious thing he would ever lay eyes on.

Corsetta buried her face in Vegeta's shoulder and clung to him as if her life depended on it. "When will I see you again?"

"I don't know, princess. You would have to ask Kakarrot."

"Who?"

"The clown."

"Oh." Corsetta twisted around and glowered at Goku. "When will you bring me to see Great-Grandpa again?"

Goku laughed nervously and waved his hands in front of him. "Sometime real soon. I promise."

Vegeta looked at Goku pointedly. "You'd better not be lying to her."

"I'm not!"

He wasn't entirely convinced, but Vegeta turned his attention back to the girl in his arms. "There, see? Kakarrot will bring you to visit again soon. But right now you need to go back to Earth with your family."

Corsetta wiped her runny nose on the back of her hand and nodded sadly. "Alright. I'll miss you."

Vegeta smiled and stroked her lavender hair. "I'll miss you too. Promise you'll make as much trouble for your mother as you possibly can."

"I promise!"

"That's a good girl." Vegeta smirked and set her down on her feet. She ran over to Garta, who was not happy. She grabbed her mother's hand and grinned broadly.

"Alright, everyone ready to go?" Garta asked.

Vegeta Jr. and Boxer finished stuffing the last bit of food in their mouths, swallowed, and stood up. "We're ready."

"It was nice to meet you, Vegeta," Garta said.

"Yeah, you're totally cool!" Boxer exclaimed. He ran over to his ancestor and gave him a hug before returning to his mother's side.

Vegeta Jr. gave Vegeta a small salute, much like the one Vegeta gave his son from the future before he returned to his own timeline. Vegeta returned the salute, mildly disturbed that when he exchanged the same gesture with his son he never saw him again. Was that how it was going to be with them? Would Kakarrot forget and never bring them to visit again? He dismissed that thought. He wouldn't think about that, not now.

Goku hopped off the counter where he was sitting and walked over to the Briefs family. They put their hands on his shoulders or legs, respectively, and he raised his fingers to his forehead while he searched for the ki signature of the Guardian of Earth. Finding it, he teleported himself and Vegeta's relatives back to Earth.

Vegeta sighed when they disappeared. He knew Goku wouldn't be coming back anytime soon. He was surprised he'd come back at all, much less with his family. In a way he wished he hadn't. Now he was reminded of what he wanted so badly. His family. He wanted to be with his family more than anything, and that was why he had to be alone. He leaned against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest.

'If that fool breaks his promise, I swear I'll kill him when I see him again. I don't care if he's immortal.' Vegeta shook his head and walked out of the kitchen. It was late. He was going to go to bed. Tomorrow he would start his normal routine again. At least now the saiyans were doing something worth watching.

_A/N: This is the same Vegeta Jr. as in DBGT, but I did stretch the generations because he probably would have known Vegeta since he was so old when he died in this story. Anyway, time is going to start skipping ahead again, so hold on._


	7. Tribal Feuds

Tribal Feuds

Karn was a very strong warrior; in fact, he was the strongest in his pack, if not his entire tribe. As such, he was made the official leader of the forest tribe of Vegeta-sei. His tribe, numbering over four thousand, was among the largest of the seven saiyan tribes, a piece of trivia he was willing to share with anyone who would listen. It was his pride in his tribe that made him such a popular leader. It didn't hurt that he was also a fearless leader, a seasoned fighter, a decent tactician, and an aggressive bastard willing to fight for the tiniest piece of land. Through all his battles, brawls, and spars, his power had risen to 3500, though he didn't know it. The saiyans had yet to develop a point system to measure power levels, but his guardian knew.

Vegeta sat on the edge of his Lookout, elbows on his knees and chin resting on his fists. His tail swayed lazily behind him, not from boredom, but from mild amusement. The forest tribe had recently overtaken the lowland tribe, which was much smaller by comparison. Still, it was a feat worth boasting considering the lowland tribe had some of the strongest fighters on the entire planet. Nappa had been a member of the lowlands, and his posterity lived on, growing even stronger than their forefather. They also had the toughest wilderness to survive in, complete with large, carnivorous beasts, sparse vegetation, and few water reserves. They were a hardy tribe, usually capable of defeating any other that imposed on their territory. Unfortunately, the forest tribe had managed to overpower them with sheer numbers.

The blood and carnage stretched for miles across the lowlands of Vegeta-sei. Saiyans, both of the forest tribe and the lowland tribe, were slaughtered by the hundreds. Victory came at a price for the forest tribe. They lost over a fifth of their population, and only for the sake of gaining a large oasis on the southern border of their land. The forest tribe did not need the oasis. They hand plentiful water, complete with edible marine life and fresh water for drinking. Karn simply wanted the oasis to prove they could take it, to show the other tribes that his was the most powerful. In a sense he had succeeded, but he hadn't made the tribe to the west of the lowlands pleased. The mountain tribe had formed an alliance with the lowlands a few years prior, but they hadn't heard about the battle between the forests and the lowlands in time to help their allies. They were doubly upset because their land stretched northward to border the forests, which meant they could be Karn's next target.

Though he tried to remain impartial, Vegeta was not happy with Karn's actions. He had never particularly cared for the forest tribe, and now that they were bullying the tribes along their borders, he was even less inclined to care for them. It wasn't that he was against their aggression. Actually, that was an admirable trait, and he recognized it as a necessity for saiyan culture to progress into the prosperous monarchy it had been before the Cold Empire enslaved it. He supposed he resented the forest tribe because, out of the seven of them, the forests had the most assets already. They had abundant water and food sources, readily available material for building shelter, a steadily growing population, a moderate climate, and – at least until now – the respect of the other tribes. The forest tribe was like a spoiled child, blessed with everything it could ever need, but always demanding more.

Regardless of his feelings, Vegeta did not interfere with the progression of the saiyan race. He would let them grow and change as naturally as they had before, without his guidance. They were doing well enough on their own. Taking his focus off the arrogant, ego-inflated leader of the forests, Vegeta shifted his attention to the tribes on the other side of the planet, the island tribe, the flatlands tribe, the coastal tribe, and the wetlands tribe.

The islands were a small tribe, split up between several large islands scattered across the planet's largest ocean. They had little to do with any of the other tribes since they had a hard enough keeping in contact with one another across the vast ocean. The only tribe they ever had interactions with – good or bad – was the coastlands, a thriving tribe even larger than the forests. They stretched the breadth of the land bordering the ocean, as far north and south as they could stand the climate. Further inland were the flatlands, a tribe that lived on rolling plains famous for its tall grass, roaming beasts, and numerous lakes and rivers. The flatlands actually surrounded the small wetlands, a tribe of saiyans who lived in the innermost part of the great continent where the land was marshy and the climate brought them more than enough rain and fog. They had the most difficulty finding clean water and land dry enough to build shelters, but they made do with what they had available.

The tribes didn't actually call themselves by their geographical regions, but Vegeta used the terms for his own benefit so as not to confuse them. He found that, as usual, the islands were too busy with their own affairs to wage war against any other tribe. Minor battles were occurring between the coastlands and the flatlands over territory, and the wetlands were left to themselves as they usually were. No one else particularly wanted their land, and they were too small to be much of a threat to the flatlands.

For fifty years Vegeta had watched the small fights, sometimes blown into full-out intertribal wars, with growing interest. He noticed that they were fighting more frequently and with greater aggression than the saiyan history he learned. Again, he came to believe it was because the saiyans were already fully evolved, just without memory of their past. Still, these were different saiyans than had ever existed before; all but a handful of the saiyans Kibitoshin resurrected were dead again, most killed in battle or by wild animals and other hardships, though some lived to die of old age. There was no way for even Vegeta to predict which tribe would eventually rise to become the house of the monarchy and which bloodline would become royalty. Sometimes, when he thought about it, he would feel a pang of resentment or even jealousy. The throne was his…or it had been.

He was becoming accustomed to his isolation on the Lookout, but he still yearned for real interaction with his people. What saiyans had he ever known in his own life? Nappa, Raditz, and Kakarrot, if the fool counted. He was almost too young to remember his father and mother, let alone any of the guards and servants of the royal palace he ignored as a child. He had the faces of his parents engrained in his memory forever, as well as their words of wisdom, but he hadn't truly _known _them. He had been much too young. Was it wrong, then, for him to want to live amongst his people for the first time? Was it wrong for him to want to rule them as was his destiny? He was the crown prince of Vegeta-sei, heir to the throne, future king. Obviously fate had other plans in mind, but even now Vegeta couldn't help but wonder what it would have been like to live in the role he was born for.

He would never know. He could never be the prince, could never be the king. He was the guardian of the saiyans now. A god, high in the sky, distant and uninvolved. Vegeta yawned and stood up, stretching his arms over his head. He was slightly sore from his kata that day and was ready for bed. The saiyans were fine, as they had been since he began his guardianship. He retreated to his private quarters in the palace and yanked his boots and gloves off before sitting on the edge of his bed, staring at the opposite wall, devoid of any color or décor. His woman never would have left it so plain, especially for so long. The sterile white almost reminded him of his quarters on Frieza's ship, or at least the infirmary room he saw entirely too many times at Capsule Corporation. He frowned, thinking to himself for the millionth time that he should do something about that, but as always he knew he never would. Interior design was never anything he had been interested in. He wouldn't know the first thing about decorating a room.

Shrugging, he pulled off his shirt and pants and curled up in bed, wrapping his tail around his waist and his arms around his pillow. If only he could spend one more night with her, he would be happy. If only he could see her smile one more time, hear her angry screeching one last time, or smell her strawberry-scented hair…

"Stop being sentimental and sleep, you idiot," he grumbled to himself. Swallowing back the lump in his throat, he nuzzled into the pillow and closed his eyes, willing himself to drift into a restful slumber, something he rarely ever had.

He blinked his eyes a few times, trying to focus, then stared at the plain white wall. 'Why,' he wondered, 'couldn't Kibitoshin have erased my memories as well?' He frowned and stretched out on his bed, turning his gaze to the plain white ceiling overhead. Every night was filled with memories, some good, some bad, all painful. The bad memories, those of his years with Frieza or after the death of his family, haunted his sleep and left him feeling irritable in the morning. The good memories, those of the years he spent with his mate and children, were agonizing to wake from and left him feeling agitated in the morning. There was no winning. If he didn't need sleep, he wouldn't bother with it. Unfortunately, immortals needed rest too.

Vegeta didn't want to force himself out of bed this morning. He was sick of it all, the routine, the self-pity, the isolation. The saiyans didn't really need him; as guardian he hadn't done a single thing since his race was revived other than sit around watching them. Several times he had considered taking one of the stronger saiyans as a pupil, teaching him or her to become even stronger and start the monarchy, but it was too early for that. They were still growing into the race he knew. It would take at least several more decades, maybe even centuries, before they would be ready for a firmly established monarchy.

The saiyan guardian drew his hand down across his face and exhaled slowly. He wasn't surprised, but disappointed nonetheless, that he hadn't seen his family once since their visit fifty years earlier. Perhaps a visit from them would cheer him up. He snorted. Not likely. They would simply make him long for his family more when they returned home to Earth. Perhaps it was a mercy that Kakarrot didn't bring them back. Each time he would part with them would be more painful. Like a pleasant dream, they would fade as he returned to reality, reminding him that he was destined to be alone forever. He hardly believed he would ever be redeemed anymore. That bargain was a ploy used to persuade him to take the stupid job as guardian.

Finally, after debating with himself for minutes or hours, he got out of bed and dressed before going outside for his morning check-up on the saiyans. He sat on the edge of the platform and looked down at the clouds, always obscuring his view of the land he longed to see. Sighing, he closed his eyes and opened his mind to the saiyans below. He wasn't surprised when he found that the mountains were planning an attack on the forests from the northwest. He wasn't surprised when the islands were still bickering amongst themselves. He wasn't surprised when the wetlands were more interested in finding a way to make their land more habitable than fighting for better land from the flatlands. And he wasn't surprised when he felt the mourning and anger of the lowlands or the small battles the coastlands were waging against the flatlands.

It was the same as it had been every day before for many years. Nothing new, but still interesting, if only because Vegeta wanted to see who would win their fights today. It was always unpredictable. More times than he could count the underdogs somehow pulled through. Then, perhaps, the next day the other tribe (or tribes) would stomp on them with true saiyan brutality.

The saiyans had a natural affinity for manipulating ki. The main problem was getting them to realize that and use it effectively. Many of them still relied on brute strength and weapons rather than ki. Vegeta thought their fights would be more interesting if there were more ki beams and such, but he knew that at this point in their history, it would be dangerous for them to master their use of ki. It would turn into a situation like the humans on Earth after they figured out how to create nuclear weapons. The technique he and Kakarrot taught Raditz was spreading steadily, but it hadn't reached all of the tribes yet. Raditz was a member of the coastlands, who had a tendency to keep to themselves, never having anyone to form alliances with, rarely declaring war against anyone aside from the small scuffles with the flatlands. Still, the ki sensing technique was managing to get around and within a few generations hopefully, it would be common knowledge to all saiyans.

Raditz. He died two years ago. He had three sons and a daughter, and his mate still survived, though she was reaching the end of her life as well. Vegeta had visited his old comrade once after meeting with him in the red desert with Kakarrot. It was actually when he was on his deathbed, ready to pass on to Otherworld. Under the cloak of night, with suppressed ki and predatory stealth, Vegeta went to see him. He had sat on the edge of his bed, looking into the dark, dim eyes of the old saiyan, wishing that he, too, could find peace in death.

_"You've lived a good life, Raditz," he said. He clasped his hands together in his lap. "You'll make it to heaven this time."_

_ Raditz smiled and nodded once. Over the decades more bits and pieces of memories returned to him; he knew he had been in hell for over two centuries. He didn't want to return there. "I hope so, my prince."_

_ "I'm not your prince." Vegeta's tail twitched and flicked across the scratchy blankets._

_ "You will always be my prince, Vegeta," Raditz said quietly._

_ Vegeta thought at the moment that it was sentimental rubbish. Even when they were alive, working for Frieza, he hadn't really been a prince. How could he be a prince with no kingdom? Still, he appreciated the loyalty. Vegeta took a deep breath and held it for a moment before slowly exhaling. Closing his eyes, he made one last request of the dying saiyan. "Raditz, when you get to heaven, I want you to find my mate. I want you to tell her that I'll be with her, even if it takes millennia."_

_ The long-haired saiyan struggled to sit up. "Who is your mate?"_

_ "Bulma," Vegeta whispered, so softly he might not have said anything at all. "Do you remember Kakarrot's friend? The woman with blue hair? You saw her when you went to Earth."_

_ "Yes, I remember her. She was a loudmouth. Impossible to forget. You _mated _with her?"_

_ Vegeta smirked. "She had redeeming qualities. Find her for me, Raditz. The worst part of this has been knowing she has no idea where I am. Not in hell, not in heaven, not with the kais, not on Earth."_

_ "I'll find her, my prince," Raditz said._

_ Nodding, Vegeta stood up and turned to leave. He paused, crossing his arms over his chest as his smirk turned to a smile. "If I were still a prince, Raditz, I would have made you an elite years ago."_

Vegeta sighed at the memory, shoving it aside. More and more frequently he was distracted by his own thoughts when he was supposed to be watching over the saiyans. He couldn't help wondering if Raditz had managed to find Bulma yet. She died much longer ago and heaven was a big place. Maybe he was still searching. Maybe he found her right away. Maybe he forgot his promise when he died. No, that wasn't likely. Vegeta was familiar enough with death to know memories stayed intact. He'd been dead three times, after all, and each time he could remember everything up to the point of death.

He stood up and walked to the center of the platform after finishing his check-up and sank into his fighting stance. Training seemed pointless these days. He was easily the second most powerful being in the universe, now with eternal life. Why did he need to keep training? The answer was simple enough, if not depressing: He had nothing better to do with his time. "To hell with this."

Vegeta straightened and walked to the edge of the Lookout, glancing over his shoulder once before stepping off. He twisted until he was facing the rapidly approaching ground, the wind whipping in his face, beads of water gathering in his thick hair, tail, and eyelashes as he passed through the clouds. Then, a moment before he hit the ground, he thrust his ki under him and flipped, landing softly on his feet. Standing with arms crossed, he closed his eyes and searched for the nearest battle. There, about 300 miles east, he could feel the ki of hundreds of saiyan warriors rising and falling in battle. Did this count as direct intervention in their lives? Probably. He didn't care. Vegeta levitated off the ground and flew toward the battle.

Soon he found himself in the midst of a territory battle between the flatlands and the coastlands. Smirking, he jumped into the fray, suppressing most of his ki, and started fighting. His goal was not to aid either side, nor was it to kill any saiyans. He simply wanted to fight, to know what it was like to fight in a true battle between saiyans. His sudden appearance came as a surprise to those around him, but as soon as he started punching and kicking without discernment, he was able to blend into enough that he no longer gathered any unwanted attention.

To Vegeta, the battle, in its primal simplicity, was thrilling. From every side and angle he could expect a blow to come, and since he was not affiliated with either tribe, he had to be extra cautious because no one would recognize him as one of their own. And so he was kept busy dodging unseen attacks, jumping over kicks while simultaneously ducking under punches, turning mid-air to kick an assailant, maneuvering between two or more fighters engaging in close hand-to-hand combat, while somehow managing to stay on the offensive as well. Even with suppressed ki he had the advantage in speed, so it was over an hour before the first blow landed on him. He was winded by the punch to his gut, but it was a welcome pain. Here he was, battling it out for the hell of it with hundreds of saiyan warriors. What more could he ask for? Bring on the pain, it was what he came for. A fight.

Was it really interfering with their lives the way he was fighting? He killed no one, gave neither side an advantage in battle. He remained anonymous and never seriously injured anyone. If anything, the worst he was doing was showing them new ways to fight. It was no different than teaching Raditz the ki sensing technique to share with his tribe, and the Supreme Kai hadn't had anything to say about that, though when he found out about Raditz he had been surprised that the memory wipe wasn't completely flawless.

The saiyan guardian moved swiftly through the saiyan ranks, never sticking with one opponent for long before he moved on, seeking a new challenge, greater strength. He laughed as he grabbed a fist that shot past his head from behind and threw the enormous warrior over his shoulder. This was fantastic. He had never been in a battle like this before. Battles to him meant fighting another strong warrior – maybe several, but never in a multitude like this – one-on-one. He was a member of Frieza's army, but his army didn't fight as an army. They were broken into small squadrons, often based on race or rank. His squadron consisted of three people: himself, Nappa, and Raditz. That wasn't an army. Fighting alongside them against a great number of enemies on purge missions was nothing like this.

Here he was deafened by the din of battle as saiyans bellowed with battle cries, roared in pain, frustration, grief. He was overwhelmed by the stench of blood, sweat, and death. No burnt flesh, not like on purge missions. The battle grew in intensity as time dragged on, each side becoming more desperate for victory. All day he fought, never tiring. He could feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins, his ki burning in his muscles, as if begging to be set free. But he held himself in check, knowing that even the tiniest fraction of his true power would be enough to kill even the strongest of these warriors with one blow if he released it.

The day passed in a blur to him, a blur of flailing arms, bloodied knuckles, bared teeth, and bristled tails. He lost track of time until the sky grew dark as the suns lowered on the horizon, casting an eerie burgundy light across the blood-stained battleground. Even with the night forthcoming, the saiyans did not relent in their battle. No victory had yet been decided; they would keep fighting until only one tribe stood as conqueror of the land.

And, as much as Vegeta wanted to stay to continue battling with his distant brethren, he knew that his duty as guardian took precedence. By all accounts, he never should have come to fight in the first place. He was apprehensive about the reprimand he might receive for it, but he had an excuse ready: He was still watching over the saiyans, but from a different angle. How could he truly know their development as a warrior race without experiencing firsthand how they battled? Stealthily he slipped away from the battle before taking off into the night sky, flying at a relaxed pace. Folding his hands behind his head, he turned onto his back and gazed up at the jeweled sky. He reeked of battle, but the scent was carried away by the cool wind caressing his battle-sore body.

When he landed on the Lookout, he headed straight for the kitchen to make himself something to eat. Though the fighting hadn't been intense enough to truly make him exert himself, he had still worked up a decent appetite. Anyway, it was much more entertaining than training by himself on the Lookout all day. Running through the same kata every day for decades was starting to bore him, the Guardian of Vegeta-sei, someone who valued routine, consistency, and predictability in his life. Once he reached the kitchen, he opened the door to the pantry and looked inside, leaning against the doorframe as all energy seemed to drain from his body.

"If I had a stupid genie, there would have already been a meal set out," he grumbled. Cooking was tedious. He hated it more with each passing day. Pushing off from the door, he walked into the pantry and started gathering food, mostly items he wouldn't have to cook. Several minutes later, arms laden with foodstuffs, he came out and dropped everything on the small kitchen table and collapsed in his chair to begin eating.

As he ate, he dove into his memories of the day's battle. The saiyans really were a brutal race, willing to kill each other without hesitation in order to better their own lives. At least, they were willing to kill members of other tribes. They were fiercely loyal to their own tribes, and even more to their packs. Wasn't that an admirable trait? By watching the saiyans grow, Vegeta's eyes were opened to the true honor of his race, which made his pride in them swell. The saiyans he knew as a boy were nothing like this. These saiyans were survivors, warriors, but they were unafraid of emotions, attachments, families, and trust. Though primitive by comparison, they were tactful fighters, quick and brutal. What they lacked in strength they made up for in number. They could rely on each other in all that they did. If he could somehow influence them to never give up those qualities, perhaps redemption wouldn't be as hard as he thought. These saiyans weren't merciless killers like the saiyans of his age. No, they were violent, but they had honor and pride. He just had to see to it that they never gave that up in exchange for more power.

After eating and washing the dishes, Vegeta walked out to the edge of the Lookout and sat down for his evening check-up. He sat there for a while, still lost in his own thoughts, before he closed his eyes and cleared his mind to listen in on the thoughts of the saiyans and watch the world through their eyes. The battle he had engaged in was drawing to a close with the flatlands overpowering the coastlands this time. Vegeta nodded his approval; though he hadn't paid much attention to sides, he noticed that the flatlands were more focused in their fighting and quicker to leap on opportunities to defeat their adversaries. Changing his focus, he found that the mountains were gathered and ready for battle against the forests, planning on attacking at the first light of dawn. Unfortunately for them, the forests were privy to their plot and were making preparations of their own. The islands and the wetlands were still isolated, uninterested in interaction with any other tribes, and the lowlands were counting their losses from the previous day's battle.

Vegeta was still checking up on the saiyans when the battle finally drew to a close with the flatlands as the definite victor. He shifted his attention back to them when he felt the drop in ki as the saiyans calmed, the adrenaline slowly leaving their bloodstreams.

_ 'Who was that warrior?'_

_ 'What one?'_

_ 'You must have seen him! I didn't recognize him. He was small and quick, not like us.'_

_ 'Was he fighting on their side?'_

_ 'Part of the time.'_

_ 'I saw him too! He was a great fighter. I saw him single-handedly defeat three of their greatest warriors. Where is he now?'_

_ 'Maybe he was one of the gods. He wore strange clothing, nothing like what I've seen before.'_

Vegeta opened his eyes and stood up, his tail twitching behind him as he walked back to his palace. "Guess they noticed me." Shrugging, he headed for the bathroom to clean off the sweat, blood, and dirt from his body. Vegeta stripped off his clothes and stepped into the bath, already filled with scalding hot water. This he considered to be one of the greatest privileges of being a god. A hot, private bath the size of a public bath many cultures had. He eased down into the water, the soreness in his muscles melting away. Through the thick steam he could see tendrils of crimson seeping into the water from his body. Never did a bath feel as magnificent as it did after a well-fought battle.

He sat still for a long while, losing himself in the simple pleasure of a hot bath, before he started scrubbing his body with his rough, calloused hands. The water was dirtied with dust and blood, turned red from the gore sticking to his skin. Vegeta scrubbed until he was satisfied with his cleanliness, then sank under the water to rinse the dirt and grime from his thick mane. When he resurfaced, he sighed and stood up, grabbing a towel from the side of the bath.

"What do you want?" he asked, wrapping the towel around his waist.

"What were you thinking going into that battle?"

Rolling his eyes, Vegeta flicked his tail, spattering hot water across the room, slashing through the thick steam. "I thought I was fighting. I'm sure even you can figure that one out. You _are_ the Supreme Kai, aren't you?"

Kibitoshin sighed, frowning at the incorrigible saiyan guardian. "That's not what I meant and you know it. I told you you're not supposed to directly intervene in their lives!"

Vegeta snorted as he walked out of the bathroom, the Supreme Kai trailing on his heels. "I didn't do anything to 'intervene' as you put it. I did not sway the battle one way or another, I did not kill any saiyans, and I did not reveal who I am to a single person. I did nothing to break the rules you set for me."

The Supreme Kai threw his hands up in exasperation, but he didn't reply right away. What could he say? Technically, Vegeta was right. Still, he wasn't pleased with the lower god's choice. It was dangerous being so close to the saiyans. "How many times must I remind you that you need to be careful, Vegeta? Your job is to _watch_ them!"

"I was watching them. I just happened to have a front row seat today." Vegeta walked into his sleeping quarters and pulled the towel from around his waist to try off. "You know, there's something I've realized about saiyans as I've been watching over them."

Kibitoshin averted his eyes from the nude saiyan. "And what is that?"

"Saiyans are social. They survive best in close units. You know, their tribes, and their packs within the tribes. They're not a race meant to live in solitude. I never thought about it before, considering most of my life was spent in near extinction, but they're stronger in groups."

"What's your point?"

"Supreme Kai," Vegeta said seriously, turning to face the overseer of the universe, "I may be their guardian, and I may have lived in isolation from other saiyans before I died, but I am still a saiyan."

Rubbing the back of his neck, Kibitoshin looked down at the floor, feeling slightly guilty for putting Vegeta in such a situation. He, like the former prince, did not think much about the innate saiyan need for companionship. It had never come up before this. "I think I understand what you're saying, but I can't—"

"I'm not asking you to give me someone to keep me company," Vegeta cut him off sharply. "But you can't expect me to live up here in my palace in the sky without ever going to be _with_ my people. I learned more about the saiyans today than I have in the past century. If you agree that I have broken no rules, then I intend to join their battles again. Tomorrow, actually."

"But Vegeta!"

"No buts!" Vegeta turned away again, growling. This time he wasn't willing to give in to the Supreme Kai's worrying. He found a way to join his race while still remaining apart from it. It was what he needed, what he craved. "The worst that can happen is that they learn new fighting techniques from me. I won't even use ki attacks until they're ready to learn that."

"Very well," Kibitoshin relented. "As long as you are careful to avoid giving advantage to either side in these tribal feuds, I won't ask you to stay out of them. Perhaps it is a good thing for them." He shrugged with another sigh. "The prophecy said you would guide them. Maybe I am being narrow-minded in understanding how you will accomplish your redemption."

"Hn."

"I will leave you then. Good luck with them, Vegeta." Receiving a curt nod, the Supreme Kai turned away from the saiyan and disappeared.

As soon as he felt the Kai's energy vanish, Vegeta crawled into bed and curled up around his pillow. Tomorrow he would fight with the mountains and the forests, trying not to be biased in favor of the former. He finally found something he could do as guardian that wasn't overly boring or useless. Maybe the Supreme Kai was right. Maybe it was interactions such as these battles that he would redeem himself through his guidance of the saiyan race. For the first time in years, he hoped the feuds wouldn't end soon. Forget a monarchy, these battles were much too exciting to give up. It gave him a reason to leave his loneliness behind at the Lookout.

_A/N: Finally, another chapter! I know it's not the greatest, but it was my first real attempt to break free of the writer's block I've been stuck in. I'm not going to promise another chapter anytime soon, but I'm thinking about outlining future chapters like I did with _Homeless Boy_. That method seems to work well for me. I would also like to request a beta for this story. I have grand ideas for this story, and I want to see to it that it meets its potential. If you're interested, send me a pm._

_Review!_


	8. Daily Life

Daily Life

Vegeta levitated high above the battle, high enough that the saiyans couldn't see or sense him. Almost all of them had mastered the art of sensing ki, and many of them were now starting to manipulate ki effectively enough to both fly and fire ki beams in battle. It had been almost two centuries since he first joined an intertribal battle, and he was amazed at their progress. Had they learned from him when they saw him fighting among their ranks? Sometimes he would catch a warrior executing a particular maneuver he knew was alien, one he learned during his time serving as a soldier in Frieza's army. Saiyans were remarkable in their ability to emulate a technique, no matter how complicated, after seeing it performed once.

He had spent almost every day of the past two hundred years fighting in one battle or another. Over time, the feuds between tribes became bigger and long-lasting alliances were forged. From one year to the next the most powerful tribes would change, often depending on the leadership in each tribe. But, for about the past sixty years, the flatland tribe had been consistently on top, exerting its power over the other tribes, particularly the coastlands and the wetlands because of their geographical closeness. The flatlands still weren't as numerous as the coastlands, but they weren't far behind and they were, on average, much stronger. Vegeta was actually surprised that they had become so powerful, with many of their warriors reaching a power level of 10,000 in their prime. It was astounding, considering the majority of the elites he knew as a cub had been lower than that.

The second sun was setting, giving the mountain tribe a slight advantage over the forest tribe; they were more adept at fighting without light. Though saiyans were naturally evolved to have excellent night vision, it took a degree of training to be able to fight well in the dark, especially when surrounded by hundreds of potential enemies. Vegeta still couldn't predict who was going to win this particular battle, but he didn't have time to stay around to find out. He would figure it out later, anyway. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, ignoring the blood that smeared from his split lip. The saiyans were, indeed, becoming better fighters. Though he was still many times stronger, they were landing more blows on him every time he fought with them. He was proud of their progress.

It didn't take him long to reach his Lookout, and once he touched down on the platform he went inside for his daily meal before going back outside for his evening check-up. He was starting to wonder if not only were they becoming stronger, but maybe he was weakening. He rarely pushed himself to his limits anymore, taking few days out of every month to train by himself. He didn't use his ki as much as he could because the saiyans weren't ready for such demonstrations, and he hardly ever ascended beyond the first level of super saiyan. He sighed as he filled his arms with meats and vegetables from the pantry. Not taking the time to cook them, he sat down at the small kitchen table and started eating.

Six decades of one tribe overpowering the others was a good sign that some sort of monarchy would arise soon. It may be a shaky monarchy prone to usurpation and betrayal, but it would be necessary for the growth of the saiyan culture. Vegeta believed the flatlands were a decent tribe, upholding pride and honor. They were strong and they had increasing influence even over the tribes not adjacent to their land: mainly, the islands and the lowlands. It was not uncommon for temporary alliances to be made with the flatlands in the hopes of overthrowing the oppression of another nearby tribe, and it was happening with increasing frequency that the leaders of a tribe would seek counsel from the leaders of the flatlands since they were considered the wisest as well as the strongest.

Vegeta often passed the time he spent on the Lookout wondering who would become the first king of the new Vegeta-sei. Logically, it would be a member of the flatlands tribe, but which pack was considered the strongest within that tribe? Who was the best leader, both charismatically and physically? With several of the pack leaders already _over_ 10,000 it was hard to narrow down the choices. A handful of them were reaching the end of their prime now, so it was doubtful any of them would be the king. Saiyans preferred young leaders full of energy and power who could lead their people into battle. A few of the other leaders ruled by brute force alone and weren't particularly popular with their followers, though there was little that could be done to overthrow them. That left an even smaller number of leaders; men and women who were still young and fit, had years of battle experience, were well-liked and respected by their followers, and had a natural sense of diplomacy.

After finishing his meal and washing what few dishes he used, Vegeta went out to the Lookout courtyard, his bloodied boots making soft footfalls across the deep red stone. The sky had turned to black, speckled with stars. With a sigh more like a soft groan he sat down on the edge of the platform and raked his hand through his hair. The routine had been boring to him from the start, but now he had to admit that even the daily battles were becoming boring as well. He wanted to be able to use more ki techniques, wanted a challenge that would push him to his limit and beyond.

Shaking his thoughts aside, he cleared his mind and focused on the saiyans below. The battle he had been in was finally drawing to a close and it appeared that the tables had been turned and the forest tribe was gaining the upper hand over the mountain tribe. With a subtle shrug, Vegeta turned his attention to the flatlands, the main source of interest as of late. They hadn't been in many fights in recent months; apparently the other tribes had decided it was best to leave them alone and, sometimes, even better to allow them to encroach on their own land. Fighting the flatlands was suicidal and a poor political move. It was wise to stay in their good graces in case another tribe acted with hostility toward them. And for the most part, the flatlands were content with what they had. Over the past few years they had secured all the land they wanted from the surrounding territories, so they weren't much of a threat anymore unless provoked.

His eyebrow rose when he found the leaders of the flatlands gathered together in a meeting. They were discussing tribal politics; each was the official leader of his or her pack, having little or no say in how the other packs were governed. The tribe had its own culture, but the packs put varying degrees of emphasis on each cultural norm, which was causing some friction among the growing tribe. It wasn't surprising considering the increasing population and the tribe's large region; different packs had even developed their own dialects of Saiya-go. The population of the flatlands was becoming increasingly diverse, which could either cause division or bring them together if they decided to elect a leader to rule over all of them.

_"Why does it matter if members of your pack are interbreeding with the other tribe?"_

_ "It isn't right! You should be more concerned about muddying our blood with them."_

_ "If I were you, I'd focus more on the problem of disputes in your own pack."_

_ "They'll work their problems out themselves!"_

_ "Yeah, by killing each other."_

_ "So what if they do?"_

Vegeta rolled his eyes at all of their arguments. They were forgetting the one thing most important to saiyans: honor. Would they lose it before they even united under one monarch? He did notice that there was one leader who remained silent throughout the discussion. He was one of the younger leaders, barely in his prime, practically a novice in battle compared to the rest. His power was substantially lower than many of the others, but he had some innate potential Vegeta could sense. Curious about this particular leader, Vegeta delved into his mind to search his thoughts and memories to find out more about him.

Disgust with the others. Devotion to his pack. Desire to unite the packs of his tribe. Pride in their culture, their power. He was young, but he had been fighting since he could walk. He was one of the most advanced warriors in ki manipulation. Both his parents were dead, which was why he was made leader of his pack so young. He had a mate but no offspring yet. Respect for the other packs, even the other tribes. Interest in learning more about the other tribes and how they governed their people. Overarching motivation to become a better, stronger leader for the sake of his people. In Vegeta's opinion, king material. He decided to keep close watch over him, this Daekon.

After completing his check-up on the saiyan race, Vegeta stood up and crossed the outer courtyard to retire for the night, but first he was going to take a soothing bath. There were several deep cuts on his arms courtesy of the weapons many of the saiyans were still using in battle; they would heal well enough without any special attention, but they were annoying nonetheless. Really he would prefer burns from ki attacks or simple broken bones from hard-hitting blows, but in battle he didn't get to make requests. He pulled off his ragged bodysuit and stepped into the steaming water, breathing a small sigh of relief. It stung the cuts, but it relaxed his tense and sore muscles.

He didn't know how long he stayed in the bath, but by the time he dragged himself out of the water and wrapped a towel around his waist he was hardly able to stay awake. He walked to his private quarters and dried off quickly, then collapsed in bed and curled up, ready to drift off to sleep. As he did every night he kept his thoughts on his mate, hoping that he would dream about her so vividly he would be able to believe he was with her again, even if it was only in sleep.

But he didn't dream about Bulma that night. Rather, he dreamed about another saiyan, one he hadn't seen in centuries. Kakarrot. He slept fitfully as he was plagued with frustration and outright anger with the foolish saiyan. He no longer dreamed of trying to catch up with him in power, nor did he dream about all the times his life was saved by the third-class idiot. No, he dreamed about his promise to bring his family back to visit, about his promise to come back and spar sometime. It was no wonder his life had become so mundane again even with the fighting. He didn't have a decent challenge and he desperately wanted one.

He woke up early, growling with his tail lashing at his side. Where had that stupid fool gone? Probably somewhere so far away in the universe he wouldn't even be able to sense his power if he powered up to the fourth level to attract him. Vegeta rubbed his eyes and glared at the ceiling. He was still tired, but now that he was fully awake it wasn't likely he would return to sleep before his usual wake-up time. So, he kicked off his blanket and sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. It was daytime where the wetlands tribe and part of the flatlands tribe were. Maybe he could check on them while he waited for daylight to reach the other tribes.

No. He shook his head. He really didn't feel like checking up on anyone at the moment. Images of Kakarrot were still flashing through his mind. Idiot! Why couldn't he come visit Vegeta-sei for a few days so they could get in a few good spars? He sighed as he stood up, stretched, and pulled clean clothes on. Well, if he couldn't spar, he figured he could spend his time by training by himself, running through every kata he knew. Maybe he would even train as a super saiyan two, or even higher… without making any final decision on the matter, he left his bedroom and went up to the main level of the Lookout to go out to the platform where he would have the most space to move around.

Once he sank into his fighting stance, the world around him seemed to melt away as he focused solely on his technique. After practicing it for years, decades, centuries, he was still perfecting every move, making it cleaner, more efficient. When he was training, his mind was undivided and hardly anything could break his concentration. He finished his first kata over an hour past his usual morning check-up time, and when he did, he immediately ascended to the first level of super saiyan and started again. He moved faster, his kata becoming more like a complicated dance as he darted through the air and skittered across the tile, punching and kicking the air with precise ferocity. Finishing again, he ascended to the next level and repeated the routine. He had no interest in what was going on below; all that mattered was his training. As single-minded as ever, he wasn't going to stop until he had worn himself out – if he could.

Finishing his kata once again, he pushed himself to the last level of super saiyan and took his fighting stance. He ignored the way the entire Lookout trembled from the force of his energy erupting around him. Again he started his kata, bounding across the courtyard with fluid grace, each move made with practiced ease. It was afternoon by the time he finished. He wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand before it could sting his eyes as it dripped into them. After exercising for so long he felt even more energized. Pent-up ki was straining to be loosed. He had been suppressing it for so long he hardly had control over it at this level of ascension. It burned as it coursed through his body, empowering every muscle fiber. He wanted to let it all go, let it explode around him. He didn't care if it destroyed the whole Lookout.

He was about to release it all when he realized his thinking was being taken over by his primal drive. Reigning himself in, he descended back down to the second level and exhaled a long, shaky breath. "Damn it, Kakarrot, where are you? I need to fight a real battle!"

His question hung in the air, unanswered. Growling, he lowered himself to his hands and knees. Sweat dripped from his nose and chin and he felt it trickling down his spine. He hadn't even noticed the sweltering heat as he trained. His mouth felt dry. Clenching his fists in frustration, he beat them against the red tile until it cracked and chipped. He was tired of having to hold himself back. When he fought with the saiyans, he had to make sure he didn't severely injure anyone, thereby giving an advantage or disadvantage to either side. When he was training, he had to be careful not to exert too much energy or he could destroy not only his palace, but the entire planet. Even if that didn't happen, he probably gained the attention of the saiyans; ki-sensing was a common ability now, and it was likely they had felt his power even at the first level of super saiyan. He felt caged.

Finally, he dropped out of his ascension and forced himself to relax. Without moving to the edge of the Lookout, he opened his mind to the saiyans below. There was a noticeable lack of fighting going on at the moment. But there was an uproar among the entire race. And it was because of his power. They felt it and they were confused and fearful; how could anyone be so strong? Who was it? Was it a member of another tribe? Was it someone from another planet? Did life even exist on other planets? Don't be absurd, of course not. His head ached with all the questions swimming through his mind before he shut them out.

With another low, irritated growl, he pushed himself back to his feet and went inside the palace to get a drink. Let them wonder who it was. Some of them already had the right idea, assuming it was a god. The ability to sense ki was an invaluable technique in battle, but it was aggravating that now he was even more limited by the saiyans. If he was fortunate, no one would come looking to see who it was. Maybe they hadn't been able to pinpoint his exact location. The advantage of having such an incredibly high power is that it seems to be everywhere at once, making it difficult to pinpoint the source exactly.

Once he felt adequately rehydrated, he went back out to the courtyard and sat on the edge of the platform. He was both irritated with himself for nearly losing control and for having to hold himself in check all the time. What was the point of being the second most powerful being in the universe if he couldn't flex his muscles once in a while? There wasn't anywhere for him to go where he could be far enough away that the saiyans wouldn't sense his ki. Why didn't his Lookout have a doorway that led to another dimension where time flowed differently? It would be convenient for when he needed to vent a little. Leaning back, he braced his weight on his arms and tilted his head back to look up at the clear sky. How dull to never even see clouds above. If he wanted to see clouds he had to look _down_. Everything about his life was boring. Dull. Routine. For many decades fighting with the saiyans broke any semblance of routine, but now fighting with them _was_ his routine and he was ready for something new again.

"I wouldn't be bored in hell," he muttered. No, instead he would be stuck recounting every sin he ever committed for eternity with a good dose of remorse for each one. That wasn't how he wanted to spend his afterlife. He deserved it, and he knew it, but he didn't want it. Would he have taken this job as guardian if he could avoid hell, even if he couldn't be with his woman? At times like this he thought not. It wasn't worth it. But when he closed his eyes and he saw his beautiful mate with flowing aqua hair, deep cerulean eyes, and milky white skin, he knew it was worth it. Boredom, loneliness, frustration… it meant nothing if he could hold her in his arms one last time. But he was promised an eternity with her. So yes, he had to make it through this even if it drove him to the brink of insanity.

Shutting out his thoughts, he opened his mind again to the saiyans, hoping they had calmed down somewhat since his training session. There was still much talk about it, but they weren't nearly as riled up. Some of them had already moved into outright denial that it happened at all while some still insisted it was a god. Others offered no explanation but were still curious about what it was. Vegeta shrugged. It didn't hurt them to wonder. And if they _did_ believe it was a god with the power to bring his wrath down on them if they got out of line, well, why would he want to convince them otherwise? Maybe if the majority of his people believed they were being watched by an omnipotent god they would stop squabbling over petty things like inter-tribal mating and focus on more important things such as racial unity. They needed to build themselves up to the great race they were before they were corrupted by the Colds.

He could see the beginnings of that pride, the pride of his people that kept him alive through his years of humiliation and servitude. The saiyans were more culturally aware than they had been even a generation ago. Regardless of what particular aspect of their culture they held as the most important, they were deeply attached to it. They were proud to have found their own cultural identity and were ready and willing to force their values on anyone else. And underlying their pride was a sense of unshakable honor. The honor was rooted in their loyalty to pack and tribe. Vegeta hoped that would never fade. He wanted them to hold that honor steadfastly, especially once they started being influenced by alien cultures (which was, no doubt, inevitable). He didn't know how long that would take, but he wanted them to have a solid foundation for their pride and honor before that happened.

After surveying the general population for any troublemakers or outstanding citizens, he turned his attention fully to the young pack leader, Daekon, in the flatlands tribe. He was spending the afternoon sparring with a younger cousin, a female. She was quick and nimble, which made it difficult for him to keep up with her as she easily evaded his attacks. It was good for him to gain experience fighting someone smaller and faster. He was incredibly strong and proficient in the use of ki, but he couldn't rely on that alone. He needed to sharpen his reflexes so he could act and react in battle without needing to think about what he was doing. That was what made a warrior great.

Aside from perfecting his own technique, he was also helping train someone younger and even less experienced. Vegeta approved of this; no saiyan could learn on his or her own without the risk of getting killed. Older saiyans were practically obligated to train the younger to ensure the next generation was as skillful and powerful as the last. Though this man wasn't old himself, he showed he was already taking an interest in those younger. Surely he could have found someone his own age or older to spar with, but he chose instead to train with his little cousin. Surely this saiyan was destined to become a great leader with high status in his tribe, if not the entire race. With no proper instruction he instinctively knew many of the lessons Vegeta was taught when he was young to be a good king. He wondered idly if he was in any way a descendant of the former royal line.

After mentally observing the spar for a few minutes, Vegeta eased out of his meditative state and sighed. Maybe things with the saiyans were finally starting to move along. It was about time. He'd already been waiting a few centuries. In a fluid motion he raised himself to his hands and sprung back to his feet. His tail swayed behind him as he turned toward his palace and went inside to have an early meal. He figured it would be better not to train for the rest of the day and he didn't have anything better to do with his time. Muttering to himself about genies who were naturally gifted at cooking and housekeeping, he grabbed a large load of meat, vegetables, and rice from the pantry and started cooking a sort of stew while he steamed the rice. He had to admit, though, his culinary skills were improving if only because he had lots of practice – even if he didn't want it.

When his meal was cooked, he sat at the table to eat. The quiet meals were the most depressing part of his life as guardian. They reminded him too much of the years spent on Earth after his family died and he was left to fend for himself, alone in the enormous Capsule Corporation compound. The only sounds at meals were his own chewing and swallowing punctuated with the clinking of his silverware on the dishes. The noises always seemed to echo in the kitchen as if reminding him he was alone. He wished there was some sort of chatter; he hadn't appreciated his woman's incessant babbling nearly as much as he should have while she was alive, and he hadn't cared much for his children's whining and arguing either. But now he missed it all. Silence at meals somehow felt…unnatural. Even Kakarrot's slurping and talking with his mouth full was preferable to this.

With a soft sigh he picked up his silverware and started eating. His normally voracious appetite – which he thought would be greater because of the intensity of his training – was strangely lacking. He ate slowly as he lost himself in thought so much he forgot to take another bite of food after swallowing each time. He thought about many things: his woman, his offspring, Kakarrot, the flatlands tribe and the young leader. He thought about the deal he made with the Supreme Kai, about the request he made to Raditz before he died, and about Otherworld. His thoughts were fragmented, skipping from one topic to the next, filled with unanswered questions and painful emotions.

A long time passed before he finished his meal, and by then he had no desire to do the dishes. All he did was gather them up and dump them in the sink for later. His tail twitched slowly as he went back outside into the cooler air of twilight. The moon was casting its silvery light on the blood red tile; it would be full in two years. He walked to the edge of the Lookout and peered over the edge. The moonlight reflected on the clouds below, obscuring his view of the planet. Inhaling deeply, he pushed himself forward and spread his arms, falling through the clouds, plummeting to the ground below. He slowed his descent and landed softly, his boots sinking into the soft soil. No packs lived around here, so it was secluded. But he didn't want to be in a secluded region. He wanted to see saiyans, to be close to them.

Turning his gaze skyward as if expecting to see the Supreme Kai hovering over him wagging his finger in disdain, he levitated off the ground and flared his ki to fly westward. He had no particular destination in mind, deciding he would stop when he felt like it. Maybe instead of fighting with the saiyans, he could simply observe them go about their daily lives as a silent onlooker. Not seeing through their eyes, but seeing them for himself. He ended up flying across the whole continent and part of the ocean before he stopped on one of the main islands. Only three packs of the island tribe lived on this one. He easily found one of the packs living in clay settlements at the bottom of a steep cliff. They were surrounded by the canyon wall on the south, a forest to the east and north, and a wide river formed a border on the west. At least they were well protected from any ground attacks.

Lowering his ki, Vegeta landed on the top of the cliff and started climbing down. There were many footholds, so he made a quick descent, only stopping when he was about three-quarters of the way down. There he found a small alcove where he could remain unseen as he watched over the small village of saiyans. It was lighter here than back at the Lookout, but the sky was darkening and soon night would overtake this part of the world, too. His eyes adjusted to the dimming light so he could still see the cubs running around between the clay huts; they tackled each other and wrestled as they played, their fighting instinct already evident in their games. There was a group of females and a few males near the center of the village keeping watch over the cubs while the rest of the pack was out hunting, fishing, and gathering fruit, nuts, and roots from the adjacent forest. This was obviously a close-knit pack, relatively small, but growing.

When he closed his eyes, Vegeta could only hear the laughter and playful growls of the cubs, and for a moment he could forget where he was and imagine himself back on Earth listening to his son playing with Kakarrot's younger brat or his daughter playing with Kakarrot's first grand-brat. Opening his eyes, he was almost disappointed to find he was still on Vegeta-sei, still watching saiyan cubs he didn't know as they waited for the rest of their pack to return with dinner.

Though much less active, daily routines were just as fascinating to the saiyan guardian as well-fought battles. He was interested to see actual saiyan interaction where violence wasn't involved. He wanted to see how they showed emotions, how they broke into smaller families within the pack. He was curious about how they chose mates and helped raise the cubs. Fighting was a major part of saiyan life, but it was the more mundane things that truly laid the foundation of saiyan culture. It was as important to his heritage as the battles of his forefathers; it was also the easiest part of being a saiyan to forget. Perhaps it was because of the Cold Empire that the saiyans started taking pride solely in their fighting and strength. Shouldn't they have also been proud of their pack unity? Of the special care they took to raise their young? Of their lifelong commitment to one life mate?

As he watched this particular pack, he was struck by how similar they were to humans in many ways. For many years, decades even, he had been quick out to point out the differences between his race and his woman's. But maybe they had more in common than he ever realized. Maybe this was the part of saiyan culture he needed to make sure never disappeared. Attachments, packs, mates, offspring… they didn't make the saiyans weaker; rather, they strengthened them. Wasn't that demonstrated when Kakarrot ascended to super saiyan for the first time? Or even when he ascended? It was only with a pack… a family…

It turned out the pack he chose to observe was led by a female. She was in the middle of her prime and had a mate and two cubs of her own. She was tall and slim, but strong. Stronger than the males of her pack, which was the main reason she was leader. It didn't hurt that she was caring toward every individual and spent time with them each and helped work out disputes. She also led many of the hunts when she wasn't on duty watching the cubs. Overall, she was a very well-respected leader. One thing Vegeta admired about the saiyans that he had to say was superior to the humans was their lack of sexism. Even from the beginning the saiyans didn't care if the strongest was male or female; gender mattered little to them aside from mating for obvious reasons. No, what mattered was strength. It was always strength.

Once the others returned with food, the women who had stayed to watch the cubs built a fire in the center of the village and the others roasted their catches. It wasn't long before the scent of the fresh meat rose to where Vegeta was sitting. He felt his mouth watering though he had recently eaten. He had to quell the desire to go join them; he still wasn't sure how they would react to having a visitor drop in for dinner, and he didn't want them to see him anyway. It took an hour or so for the meat to cook, and then the pack members started eating, starting with the young and then by status as determined by strength. The weak were the last to pick over the food, peeling the last bits of flesh from the bones and taking the remaining fruit.

By then the sky was dark aside from the stars and the moon. The fire had died down to glowing embers and most of the saiyans had retreated to their huts for the night. Only a few remained outside, some engaging in short spars and others sitting together to talk; there were a few young males trying to court females their age. As the night dragged on the rest of the saiyans retired until only a handful were left to keep guard through the night. Though they now had the ability to sense ki, they still relied more on guard duty to defend against attacks.

Vegeta settled back into the alcove with his back leaning against the rock wall and his arms crossed over his chest. He would stay there for the night so he could see them again in the early morning. His tail uncurled from his waist and lay at his side, flicking contentedly as he closed his eyes and rested his chin on his chest. It took a surprisingly short amount of time before he fell asleep after one last check-up on the rest of the saiyan population.

The saiyan guardian woke up before the first rays of sunlight brightened the starry sky. With a long yawn he stretched and opened his eyes for the first time. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, but once they did he saw a tendril of smoke rising from the village at the bottom of the cliff. Pushing himself forward into a low crouch, he moved forward until he could see over the edge. In the center of the village where they had cooked their dinner the night before was a new fire burning. Most of the adult saiyans were already outside breaking off into groups; some went to the river to fish, others went to the forest to gather fruit, and the rest stayed behind to tend the young when they woke up. They were remarkably coordinated, and it looked like it was a different group of saiyans left behind from the day before. Apparently they rotated duties. Vegeta wondered if that was a universal pack behavior or if it was unique to this one.

By the time the sun rose over the distant horizon, many of the older cubs had woke up and come outside either to play or help the adults prepare for breakfast. No longer content to sit around watching the saiyans build fires and discipline rambunctious cubs, Vegeta swung himself over the ledge where he stayed the night and climbed down the rest of the way to the ground. Still out of sight, he followed a narrow path cutting through a pasture of tall grass to the nearby river. He found a large boulder near the riverbank and moved behind it, positioning himself so he was still unseen but where he had a clear view of the saiyans. They used no tools to fish; instead, they waded into the river until they were waist-deep and then caught the fish with their hands, tossing them into baskets on the bank.

Vegeta watched them for nearly half an hour before he grew bored. Yes, they were skilled at the task, but he didn't care to watch them catch fish over and over. He made his way back to the path he followed to the river and took a turn to the north toward the forest. Suppressing his ki even further than before, he sneaked past the fishers and leaped into the trees once he reached them. He stayed in the forest canopy, jumping from one branch to another, climbing ever higher until he was well hidden by the dense foliage. Once he considered himself safe enough, he followed the ki of the gatherers and soon found them. Though they had split up, they stayed fairly close to one another so they were always within hearing range. As he passed by overhead, he saw them gathering a wide variety of berries in small baskets and sacks and picking sweet-smelling fruits that reminded him of earthling pears from the trees.

It was strange to see the saiyans doing this. All he knew about them even when he was a young cub was that they were great warriors. He hardly ever thought about what they did when they weren't fighting. His father told him about the missions infants were sent on to purge planets like Kakarrot was. He learned about the deal made with Frieza to travel to other planets to conquer in his name. He was taught that saiyans defeated the Tuffles many years ago and now were the rulers of their world. His mother taught him more abstract subjects, such as science, math, literature, and etiquette. In short, he lived in a world entirely unlike this. Was it because he was royalty or was it because these saiyans were still less evolved than the saiyans of his time?

These saiyans worked for the good of each other. They shared food, cared for each other's cubs, fought together, and worked together. They were community-oriented, which not only made them safer, but stronger as well. Vegeta had a feeling that if another pack were to come and attack, this whole pack would bond together and work to defeat the invaders. They would never take the every-saiyan-for-himself approach. He admired that about them. He wanted to make sure they stayed that way no matter what other advancements they made in their society.

After observing the saiyans in the forest for a while, he headed back to the village. The first thing he saw was that the younger cubs were now awake and running through the paths between huts roughhousing. He stayed near the forest edge and skirted around the settlement until he was back at the cliff wall. He really wanted to see what one of the huts was like on the inside. They were unrefined on the outside; built of clay and stone, they looked more like lumps raised from the ground than buildings. It was painfully obvious where additions were made to give more room to a particular home, and those with more than one floor looked like the upper rooms were teetering dangerously and ready to fall. The windows were merely holes made in the sides of the buildings, and doorways were little better with a more standard rectangular shape that had flaps of animal skins hanging over them. Primitive, yet functional.

His curiosity grew until he could no longer resist the urge to see the inside of one of them. Choosing one of the huts at the very edge of the village, he scaled the wall until he could peek into one of the windows of the upper story. There was no furniture inside, but there was a large pile of animal skins, feathers, leather, and dried grass and leaves. No doubt that was where they slept as they likely didn't have beds. The floors and wall were all clay and stone as they gave no finishing touches to the room. He would have climbed inside to look around the other rooms, but he knew that he would leave his scent behind and he didn't want to cause any unnecessary panic. It was surprising they hadn't scented him already, but the wind had been in his favor and they hadn't caught any traces of his scent.

He let go of the window, his only support, and dropped to the ground about fifteen feet below. Then he went to one of the windows in the lower level and looked inside. There was little to see. No real furniture, obviously no appliances or other technology. It was hard to tell what the different rooms were even used for. Unless he saw saiyans inside, he probably wouldn't figure it out. With a half-hearted shrug, he turned around and stealthily picked his way back to the cliff and started climbing back to the alcove where he could watch them from above.

While he had been exploring the hut, the saiyans had returned with food for breakfast and those who had remained behind were already cleaning and gutting the fish and the cubs were happily eating much of the fruit that was brought back. Careful to keep himself hidden, Vegeta watched the saiyan pack for the rest of the day. Those old enough for proper training broke into pairs or small groups to spar outside of the village, scattered through the grassy area, in the space between the village and the forest, and even as far away as across the river. They spent the majority of the day training, only taking short breaks in the early afternoon to find food. It was interesting to note they didn't eat together for lunch; rather, they ate what they could find when they got hungry.

Throughout the day, as most of the adults were sparring, the cubs were left behind in the village tended by the saiyans too old to fight. They still played a great deal of the time, but from time to time they retreated into the huts, not always their own. Vegeta couldn't tell what they were doing from his vantage point, so he opened his mind to see what was going on behind the clay walls. When he looked through the eyes of the cubs he saw old saiyans sitting in front of a semi-circle of attentive cubs. The elder was either teaching them lessons or reciting stories. A common theme was of the greatness of the saiyan people, how they came to be (mostly myth) and how they overpowered the wild beasts of the land, fought with neighboring packs and tribes, and made alliances with others. The stories involved romance, betrayal, legend, and pride. Violence was never sugarcoated, sometimes even acted out, and suspense was drawn out to keep the attention of the cubs. Vegeta actually found himself as enthralled as the cub whose mind he entered to explore the pastimes of the saiyan pack.

After the stories and lessons ended, the cubs would run back outside and play for another hour or so before going to a different hut for a different story and a different lesson. Vegeta didn't know if there was a set pattern or schedule they were to follow or if they simple went where they felt like going. They didn't seem to split up based on age, so he doubted any elder's lesson was particularly tailored to an age group. Apparently it didn't matter to them if they returned to the same elder to hear the same story a hundred times or if they went to ten different elders a day to hear ten different lessons. Education obviously wasn't formal, but it was effective. They didn't have any science to learn, no math, and apparently no written language. They didn't need textbooks and they didn't need to take notes – if they were anything like Vegeta, they could remember every word they ever heard anyway.

Though the adults who were training didn't eat lunch together, the elders did provide food for whatever cubs were with them around noon. They had dried meats and fruit, nuts and vegetables stored in their homes. This they ate and fed to the cubs until they each had their fill. Again Vegeta was taken by the care they showed one another. It didn't matter whose cubs they fed, the elders fed any who came to them. And the cubs didn't care if they were related to the elder, they still came to him or her to learn and eat. To them, a pack was family. Though they weren't all related by blood – closely, at least – they were a sort of extended family. Every elder was a grandparent or great-uncle or great-aunt. Their attachments and bonds were strong regardless of relation. Pack members looked out for one another in every way. This was the part of saiyan culture Vegeta missed as a cub. This was what he never understood about them.

When the afternoon drew to a close, the adults returned to the village from their sparring grounds and again broke into groups with some going to the forest to gather, some breaking into smaller groups to go hunting, and others going off to the river to fish. As he saw the day before, several stayed behind to help the elders watch over the cubs who were now free to play, their lessons for the day over. Even then, after a day spent running around, they were filled with energy, play-fighting, racing, climbing buildings, and causing other mischief. Seldom were they disciplined, as the adults chose instead to let the consequences of their actions teach them. The hands-off method of parenting was effective; the cubs knew they were being watched in case they got into _too_ much trouble, but they were free to explore and learn on their own.

Once the suns had set and the hunters started trailing back home with their kills, Vegeta decided it was time to return to his Lookout. He hadn't checked up on the other saiyans at all that day and he was getting hungry. It was past time for his daily meal, and though he hadn't done any training or other laborious exercise, he had a saiyan appetite, which the the smells of cooking food was taunting. He climbed back to the top of the cliff overlooking the village and ran a long distance away to keep his ki low, then jumped into the air and sped back toward his Lookout, his mind racing with all that he learned from his observations.

What stuck out most was the fact that saiyan pride was already being engrained in the cubs. They had already created their own myths and legends, some of which were based in fact, others were completely imaginary. There was nothing about a super saiyan that he heard, which made sense considering they knew nothing of the saiyans before the original Vegeta-sei's destruction. None of them had yet ascended and they had no reason to believe such a thing as a super saiyan existed. They also told of the saiyan god that watched over them, and he was filled with a strange sense of pride tainted with surprise. They knew of him? Or, at least, they imagined something like him? He knew they spoke of the gods, but he thought little about it. It was different to hear them tell stories about the saiyan god.

He shook his head. Saiyan pride was already flourishing in their hearts. That was good because it gave the saiyan race a sort of solidarity they may not yet be aware of. Right now, they were still more focused on tribal pride and superiority than racial superiority. But eventually they would unite and that saiyan pride they were already growing would come to light and they would feed on it. Perhaps to the point of wanting to destroy other races. Vegeta frowned. That was what happened to the saiyans before his time. With a snort he realized how similar they were to humans in yet another way: they were racists. Racist enough to commit genocide. But that was what he couldn't let happen this time. Yes, he wanted them to retain that pride. Saiyan pride gave them strength that made them practically unconquerable. They needed their pride; it was an integral part of being a saiyan.

But he had to make sure that their pride would not again be their downfall. He could not allow them to become greedy for power and domination. He could not allow them to leave their planet to kill off other races, spreading chaos and death across the galaxies. They could not enter into another destructive alliance. It wasn't because of his own redemption that he vowed to keep them from repeating history, it was for their own sake. Though he often resented his position as guardian, these were his people and he wanted to see them become greater than the saiyans of the past. He would not let them become enslaved to anything – not power, not greed, not bloodlust, and not another tyrant. They would be free warriors, and they would fight for good, not evil.

He didn't miss the irony of it. He was once a warrior for evil. He always thought it sounded pathetic and weak to 'fight for good.' But he did now, didn't he? He was trying to be a 'good guy,' wasn't he? He was changed from what he used to be, from the monster he was molded into as a soldier in Frieza's army. It took him years of reform, but he reformed. And he was going to see to it that his people followed his footsteps, moving from a hated and feared race of warmongers to a race of warriors fighting to protect the universe from evil.

_A/N: Well, I don't really have a whole lot to say about this one. Saiyan culture is still developing... but where will it lead? Only time will tell._

_Thanks to my beta, misslaurnk, for your help with this chapter._

_Review!_


	9. Niparsa

Niparsa

Goku appeared from thin air on the planet where he had felt a strange power. Thinking he may have found a population of powerful warriors to challenge to a friendly spar, he eagerly searched for the source of the energy he sensed, but it didn't look like anyone was around. Actually he found himself in a wasteland where civilization might have formerly existed. He scratched the back of his head, puzzled, when he couldn't find anyone.

"That's strange," he thought out loud, "I'm sure I felt someone here a minute ago." Not wanting to waste a jump to an unfamiliar planet or ready to give up yet, he continued looking around, overturning rust-colored stones and bricks of buildings long since crumbled to the ground. The sparse vegetation pierced through the hard clay ground and remains of decimated buildings like thin brown needles. Overall there was little to examine; the longer he stayed the more confused he felt. Obviously no one had been here for decades – or centuries – so how come he had sensed ki here?

A few more minutes passed before Goku sighed in resignation and crossed his arms, a small pout on his lips. "Guess I imagined it, or maybe my aim was off." Laughing at the absurdity of it, he raised his hand and held his fingers to his forehead, ready to move on in his travels across the universe. In less than a second he was light-years away.

Relieved that the intruder was gone, the tendril of conscious snaked deep into the ground where its body waited.

…

Vegeta knew he had been slacking in his duties over the past three or four decades, but the saiyans hadn't been straying down the path of evil. It seemed they really didn't need guidance at all. Surprisingly a stable monarchy had been established under Daekon. Not only was he a strong king, able to prevent any attempts to usurp the throne, he was a capable leader respected by his people. It was almost as if over the centuries they, as a whole race, had been longing for a single person to arise and unite them.

Under Daekon the saiyans had thrived, putting aside their rivalries and instead supporting their fellow tribes. The population as growing faster than ever and over time individuals continued becoming stronger and more adept warriors as they learned the techniques formerly monopolized by another tribe. Daekon used his power to settle intertribal disputes and encourage the growth of saiyan culture centered around pride and honor. As long as his heir grew to be strong, the monarchy would likely continue to the generation without incident. Vegeta was astounded that the first monarchy could last, but at the same time he thought perhaps it could because the saiyans were more developed than the saiyans before him had been. Whatever the reason, he was content to leave them to their affairs without his interference. It wasn't as if there were any more battles to watch or participate in anyway.

So, for the past few decades he had focused more on his own personal training. He continued gaining speed and strength, but he rarely ascended to super saiyan because he didn't want anyone to sense his power and seek him out. There was no need to ascend anyway; he had no one to fight.

Vegeta flipped once as he dropped to the floor after finishing his morning kata. His boots quietly thumped against the red tile, the only sound to be heard aside from the wind. The saiyan guardian wiped the sweat from his face as he walked toward the central palace to get lunch. He paused when he felt someone's energy close by.

Vegeta watched as a young saiyan flew up and landed a few feet from him. He quirked his eyebrow in mild interest as he took in her appearance. She was easily as tall as him, slim but muscular, and she had hair that spiked in all directions cascading across her shoulders. Overall, she wasn't terribly impressive physically, but he could sense she had a high power level. It had to have been at least 10,000. When his eyes finally met hers, he found she was appraising him just as he had done to her.

"Who are you?" she asked, her tail whipping through the air behind her.

Vegeta snorted. "Who are _you_, girl?"

She snarled a little at his condescension. "My name is Niparsa. I felt a strong energy signal, so I followed it. Are you the only one here?" She started looking around at her surroundings, sure there had to be someone else. Someone stronger than the diminutive man standing in front of her.

"Why would you think someone else is here?" he asked casually, following her gaze. He was rather amused by her underestimation of his power. It wasn't unusual.

Niparsa turned back to him and cocked her head as she crossed her arms over her chest, mirroring Vegeta. She circled around him, looking him up and down. He was short and scrawny in comparison to all the male saiyans she knew. He was obviously full-grown, but he looked like he hadn't even begun his major growth spurt yet. She snickered as she finished her circling, tail still swinging freely behind her. "You sure don't look like much."

'Arrogant little girl,' he thought, shaking his head. He smirked and turned away from her, giving her the nonverbal message that he wasn't impressed with her and didn't consider her a threat.

"You shouldn't turn your back on me," she growled.

He chuckled and remained facing away from her. "And you shouldn't underestimate me."

She took a step toward him, hands clenched into fists. "You didn't tell me who you are."

"You may call me Kami," he said as he made his way toward his palace.

Niparsa was dumbfounded. He was Kami? That little guy? He looked about as powerless as a three day-old cub. She scoffed. "You? Kami? I don't believe it. You're too weak."

Vegeta whirled around, a devilish grin on his face. He was hoping she would try attacking his pride. It gave him a good reason to put her in her place. He phased behind her and grabbed her tail in one hand and watched as she crumpled to the floor and cried out in pain. "Girl, you couldn't begin to comprehend my power. You obviously think you're quite an outstanding warrior, yet you let your tail free for enemies to take advantage of your weakest point. You underestimate potential adversaries and allow your arrogance to blind you. You don't listen when someone gives you wise advice. And where do you find yourself? On the ground writhing in pain because you were too stupid to listen." The words tumbled out of his mouth so quickly he hardly realized the irony, only afterward feeling those same words could have been spoken to him when he was a young man.

Snorting, he released her tail and waited while she regained her breath and rose to her feet. As expected, when she turned to face him her expression was filled with rage. He had shamed her effortlessly, and that was hurting her worse than his iron grip on her tail had.

"You'll pay for that!" she screamed as she swung her fist around to punch him.

Vegeta caught her fist in his hand. His lips twitched as he resisted the urge to laugh, forcing himself to remain stoic. Unreadable. He caught her other fist as it came flying toward his face.

"Let go of me!"

He shoved her away from him, forcing her to the floor again. He looked down on her as he paced around her. She was trembling in fury, and he could feel her power rising with her emotions. He doubted she knew how to control herself in a rage. She may be stronger, but she would be crippled by her emotions clouding her judgment.

Niparsa jumped to her feet and spun into a roundhouse kick. Vegeta allowed it to hit him, completely unfazed by it. He rolled his eyes when he saw her look of disbelief.

"Girl, you are clearly outmatched. Calm yourself down this instant or I will have to forcibly remove you from my Lookout." He kept his tone firm, hiding his growing amusement.

She backed away from him, her lip curled in a snarl. How could he take a kick like that and not even seem to feel it? Maybe what he said was true. Maybe he was stronger than he appeared. She forced herself to take a deep breath and exhaled slowly. If he was as powerful as he claimed, perhaps she could learn from him. She hoped to be the strongest saiyan on the planet someday. Perhaps he could help her achieve that goal. If she had any hope of getting on his good side, that is.

She appraised the small saiyan again. There was something about him that screamed authority. He didn't have the body of a leader, but his demeanor more than made up for it. She was foolish not to have noticed it before.

"Are you really Kami?" she asked, subdued but still skeptical.

"No, I live in a gravity-defying palace that floats thousands of feet above the planet's surface because I'm just your average saiyan," he grumbled.

She was slightly taken aback by his sarcasm. She never imagined Kami to be a little man with unbelievable power, a foul mood, and a sharp tongue. Wasn't Kami supposed to be kind and forgiving?

"Maybe, but I'm not," he told her with a wave of dismissal as he again started for his palace. He was hungry and she was keeping him from his daily meal.

"I didn't say anything," she told him.

"You didn't have to. I can read your mind. It goes with the job. Though I probably could have done it anyway."

She ran to catch up with him as he disappeared through a doorway. "Hey, wait, where are you going?" she called after him.

Vegeta sighed and continued on his way. "I'm going to eat. Just because I'm immortal doesn't mean I don't get hungry."

He went into the kitchen and pulled enough food for one saiyan out of storage. He wasn't going to make the girl feel welcome just because she somehow found her way to the Lookout. She was already grating on his nerves. He could see she had potential as a fighter, but that didn't mean he would automatically forgive her brash behavior. She needed to learn to respect him first. He sat down at the table and started eating just as she finally reached the kitchen. She sat down across the table from him and waited for him to invite her to dine with him. He knew what she was waiting for, but he wasn't going to offer her anything. He quietly finished his meal before standing up and dumping his dishes in the sink to wash later. He really needed to get himself a genie. He was tired of performing chores. He was a god, he shouldn't be stuck doing the dishes.

Then an idea struck him. He smirked and turned around, crossing his arms over his chest. "Is there something you want, girl?"

Niparsa looked up at him and frowned. She was getting hungry, but she felt foolish asking for food. Obviously he wasn't going to give her anything. Before she could answer, her stomach growled loudly for her. She blushed and looked away from Vegeta as she pressed her hands against her stomach. She really should have taken the time to eat before she left to seek out the power she had felt so many times, but she had been afraid that if she didn't leave immediately it would disappear the same as it did every day.

He walked past her on his way out of the room. "You can eat if you wash the dishes," he said over his shoulder.

"He's Kami? Really?" she sighed to herself and got some food out to eat. Doing the dishes was a task she didn't want to do, but if it meant having a shot at getting him to train her, she would do it. Besides, she was really hungry.

Vegeta sat down on the edge of the Lookout and cleared his mind to be able to see his people. There were dozens of post-dinner fights going on, nothing unusual. The routine of daily living persisted. He watched some of the fights, pleased to see many saiyans were developing their own fighting techniques. Their skills continued to improve over time. His warrior race was as it should be: violent and proud, eager to fight over anything, working to better their skills. He smiled and leaned back with his arms crossed under his head. It was comforting to see their gradual progress.

"What are you doing out here?" he heard the girl's voice ask, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"Sleeping on the job," he replied as he sat up and looked down over the edge. He really wanted to dive off, leave the Lookout, be free again.

Niparsa didn't know how to take that. She couldn't tell if he was being serious or not. She walked over to him and sat down a little ways away from him, still unsure about boundaries. He didn't seem like the friendly type, but she was determined to persuade him to teach her. Silence fell between them and she was becoming increasingly uneasy around him. He seemed to be completely ignoring her presence. No one ever ignored her! She was too powerful. She commanded respect despite her youth. But he didn't seem to care one way or another if she was there or not.

"So, Kami," she started nonchalantly, "just how powerful _are_ you?"

He barely glanced her way before answering, "I'm the second strongest saiyan who ever lived."

Her eyes widened. No one in her parents' or even grandparents' generation seemed to be able to remember anything about their past except that they were a strong warrior race. She'd heard about warriors stronger than herself, which was impressive considering she could outmatch just about anyone on the planet. Was he claiming to be stronger than them?

Vegeta snorted. "You think the saiyans in those stories were strong? They are nothing compared to me. I would tell you about my power, but you wouldn't understand. The old legends have been lost."

She was again thrown off by his ability to read her mind. She didn't like him being able to do that to her. Not that she could do anything about it. She brushed that thought aside. "What legends do you mean?"

The saiyan guardian pushed himself to his feet and started walking back to the center of the Lookout. It was getting late and he was tired. Having a nuisance girl pestering him with endless questions wasn't helping. "Won't your mother be worrying over your absence, girl? You had no reason to be here any longer."

"That's not true!" The young saiyan's hands clenched into fists. "I want you to train me."

His bark of laughter was unsettling. "Train you? Why should I waste my time on you? I don't take pupils."

Niparsa dropped her gaze to the clouds below. "Can't you make an exception just this once?"

"I'm a busy man," he drawled, enjoying her increasing agitation. "Besides, I would only make an exception for someone with exceptional potential."

She jumped to her feet, teeth bared in a snarl. "I have potential! I'm already one of the strongest saiyans alive!" She took a step toward him as her passion burned. "I could become the strongest. I want to be the greatest!"

Vegeta eyed her coolly, not impressed by her forcefulness. "Why?"

"W-why?" Niparsa paused, dumbstruck. Her mouth moved to make an answer but no sound came out at first. Honestly, she had never thought about _why_. Wasn't it obvious? "Well, because I…why _not_?" She smirked, proud of her ability to dodge his question.

The saiyan guardian shook his head. "You stupid girl. What good is strength if you have no need for it?"

"I want to be respected," she shot back.

He shrugged. "Aren't you already? You're the strongest in your tribe."

Not stopping to wonder how he knew that, she insisted, "That's not good enough."

Vegeta did not push her with another question for a while. He could sense her frustration, but that wasn't why he decided to give her a break. Rather, he was stunned by her similarity to himself. All she cared about was power. For much of his life he had a goal, a reason to want to become more powerful, but then he sought power for its own sake. And why? Well, why _not_? Granted it had come in handy when he was faced with increasingly challenging adversaries, but that had never been his reason for training. He had simply wanted to prove he was the best. It wasn't until he was much older that he realized how foolish that desire was. Really it was empty; had he been the best, what then?

"Power," he said quietly, forcing her to listen closely, "is not an end, but rather a means to an end. So tell me, girl, what you would do once you had it."

Niparsa stared at him for a moment, then turned away, not sure how to answer him. What would she _do_ with her strength? She would…she would…

"That's what I thought." Vegeta frowned at her, making her feel he was actually disappointed in her, but she had no idea why. She didn't have long to think about it before his face returned to its stoic mask. "Well, come on then." He started walking toward the palace.

"Wait, what?" She watched him for a second before running after him. "Does this mean you'll teach me?"

"Under one condition." Vegeta didn't stop to make sure she was listening; he could practically feel her tension as she waited for him to continue. "You will use your strength to become a member of the royal guard, and you will use what I teach you to advise the king. Under no circumstance will you wield your power against the throne."

"You want _me _to advise the king?" Niparsa almost fell on her face when her feet stopped working and her momentum carried her forward. She stumbled, managing to regain her balance before he turned to face her and see her foolishness. "I could. I mean, why? Or… what?"

Vegeta raised his eyes to the heavens, wondering if he was going to regret his decision no sooner than it had been made. "I lack patience. Consider it a personality flaw. Do not test me with your idiocy or you might not live to ask another stupid question," he growled.

Her mouth snapped shut before another question could slip out. She stared at him wide-eyed as he went into the palace, beckoning for her to follow. Maybe training with him wouldn't be such a good idea. He'd probably end up killing her. Swallowing back the fear, she followed him inside.

…

Niparsa grit her teeth to keep from crying out as her feet slid across the red tile. Her arms, crossed in front of her face protectively, were tingling from the blow she just blocked from her mentor. She didn't have to look down to know her feet stopped right at the edge of the platform; Vegeta always calculated exactly how much force was needed in each attack to put her there. She couldn't even begin to fathom how he was so precise – or why. No time to think about that. A moment wasted in thought was a moment too long because Vegeta would be on top of her in a flash. Without looking for him to see where the next attack was coming from she ducked and rolled away from the edge, relief flooding through her when she heard the crack of his foot crashing into the tile where she had been standing not a second earlier. But she couldn't let that relief distract her because he wasn't going to stop simply because she managed to dodge once.

She rolled to her feet and stood on shaky legs, arms still up to block an unseen blow that would turn her other eye black. Her eyes shifted from the left to the right, up and down. He was nowhere in front of her, which meant – she flew forward as a kick landed in the small of her back. Grunting in pain, she only barely managed to catch herself before she fell off the edge of the platform, an automatic loss in their spar. Not that she had any hope of winning anyway, but she wanted to last long enough to maybe, _maybe_ get at least a nod of approval. Dangling from the edge by one hand, she kicked off the side of the Lookout and threw herself over the edge back to safety. Okay, not safety since that was where Vegeta was waiting for her, but at least she was still in the game. Breathing heavily, she ran for the center of the platform, cautiously surveying her surroundings for her flame-haired opponent.

Niparsa knew he was toying with her. He did every day. And he knew she knew. Vegeta watched her in his mind from the other side of the platform behind the palace. These spars were not particularly enjoyable for him, offering him no challenge and small stings of guilt each time he nearly killed her. But he knew of no other way to teach her; it was the same way he had taught his own son, Trunks. It was the way he had learned growing up under a tyrant's rule. Survival was the best teacher there was, he believed. Unlike before, however, he took no pleasure in hurting someone – not that he had ever enjoyed hurting his son. It seemed unnecessary, but again he knew of no other way to teach. Shaking his head at her poor efforts, he started forming a ball of ki in his hand and took to the air. Before she ever saw him coming he was in front of her firing a beam of burning energy at her.

"Shit!" Niparsa stopped in her tracks and crossed her arms over her chest to take the brunt of the impact, eyes squeezed shut and mouth closed tightly to prevent any cries from escaping when it hit. There was no way to get out of the way on time, so she might as well prepare herself for it. Vegeta's attack exploded and the searing heat hit her full force. She crumpled to her knees.

Before the initial flash had faded Vegeta dashed forward and drew his fist back to punch his opponent, assuming she was still standing. He threw his punch forward and hit a body, which went sailing backwards, right over Niparsa's head and to the edge of the Lookout, just as he had intended for it. As the smoke and dust cleared, Vegeta looked down at Niparsa's wide eyes as she knelt in front of him. His eyebrow rose. If he hadn't hit her, then who…

"That's not a very nice way to greet someone!"

Vegeta's face softened so subtly Niparsa wasn't sure she had seen anything before the corner of his mouth turned up into a smirk almost akin to a genuine smile. Chuckling lightly, he crossed his arms over his chest. "Our spar is over for the day, girl."

"Over?" she breathed, trying not to sound too happy about it. Only then did she look over her shoulder to see who had interfered in their spar. She was surprised to see another saiyan, much taller than Vegeta with hair that spiked in every direction. He was wearing the most bizarre clothes, a loose-fitting bright orange gi with a navy undershirt, and black boots. They were singed from the attack he caught by accident and there were minor burns on his face, but he was grinning stupidly and waving to them.

Vegeta stepped around Niparsa as if he had forgotten her entirely, and approached the other saiyan. "Kakarrot, what the hell are you doing here?"

Goku peeked around Vegeta at the girl still sitting on her knees where she was left. He pointed to her, curiosity evident on his face. "Who's that girl, Vegeta? She's cute!"

Niparsa coughed. _Cute_? Who the hell did that idiot think he was calling cute? Was he hitting on her? Snarling, she stood up and turned around to face him, ready to give him a sound tongue-lashing, but Vegeta was laughing. That sight alone stopped her from making any moves. Instead she focused on what else Kakarrot had said. "His name is Vegeta? As in Vegetasei?" she wondered aloud.

"You talk as if she's a kitten," Vegeta laughed. "Though I suppose it isn't inaccurate."

"Kitten?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.

Vegeta waved at her dismissively. She ground her teeth at the gesture. Goku looked between the two of them and shrugged. "I just meant she's a cute kid."

"Kid?" Niparsa shrieked. I'm no child! I'm a grown woman!

Goku looked at her again with more scrutiny than before. She felt awkward and shifted her weight between her feet, not liking his appraisal. After a few seconds he smiled and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, you look pretty young to me."

Vegeta snorted. "Whatever. Why are you here?"

"Aw, can't I come visit an old friend now and then?" Goku asked with his whiniest voice he knew Vegeta couldn't stand. His sadness turned into a grin when he saw Vegeta's irritation.

"Now and then?" Vegeta scoffed. "I haven't seen you for centuries."

Hearing that, Niparsa gawked at the two of them, trying to make sense of their conversation. One, did Vegeta really have friends? And two, was this other saiyan, Kakarrot, also immortal? How? What? "Who are you?"

Goku turned to her yet again and held out his hand. "Oops, sorry! Forgot to introduce myself. I'm Son Goku."

Niparsa glanced at his hand and didn't take it, not understanding his gesture. "I thought Kami called you Kakarrot."

"You call Vegeta Kami?" Goku broke into laughter. "Oh, yeah, he's the only one who does. That was the name I was born with, but I was sent to Earth as a baby –"

"Kakarrot!" Vegeta barked, kicking him in the gut.

Doubled over, Goku wheezed and shot an apologetic look to the guardian. He wasn't used to keeping secrets about his past, so it wasn't until Vegeta's kick landed that he remembered no one on this new Vegetasei was supposed to know anything about the saiyans that existed before.

Before she could ask another question, Vegeta grumbled, "Suffice it to say he changed his name. However, I prefer to call him Kakarrot. It hardly matters, call him what you want."

"Okay…" Niparsa's eyes narrowed. "So who is he, exactly?"

Vegeta sighed, as if what he was about to say didn't thrill him. "The strongest saiyan to ever live."

As if it was some sort of joke between them, Goku laughed and rubbed the back of his head while Vegeta smirked in that almost-smile again. Niparsa perhaps should have been intimidated to be standing with the two most powerful saiyans ever, but something about the newcomer's behavior put her at ease. Hell, even Vegeta seemed less intense than usual. She decided not to ruin the relaxed atmosphere by asking any more questions that might irritate the saiyan guardian.

Goku's stomach growled. "So do you have anything to eat?"

Vegeta smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand. "Are you ever not hungry, you clown?"

Goku laughed. "Not really, no."

"Fool. Come on," he growled, turning toward the palace to feed his guest. He never acknowledged Niparsa, but she came along with them anyway.

Once they were seated at the table in the kitchen with a mountain of food laid out in front of them, Vegeta returned to the matter than had brought Goku to Vegetasei after being gone so long. "Why did you come here, Kakarrot?"

Around a mouthful of food, Goku explained, "I thought you might know about something weird going on in the east quadrant."

"East quadrant?" Vegeta shook his head. "I hardly know what's going on in the north. I only get occasional updates from Kibitoshin when he checks up on me." He finished with a sneer.

"Oh." Goku looked down at the table, clearly disappointed.

Vegeta sighed. "Tell me what's been going on."

Goku shrugged, staring blankly at the table without taking more food for a while, as if trying to find the words to explain what he had seen. He briefly glanced at Niparsa, who was looking at him waiting for him to say what was on his mind. He frowned slightly, not sure if she should hear what was troubling him.

"Go train, girl," Vegeta commanded, never looking her way.

Niparsa opened her mouth to protest, but she felt their tension and nodded, standing to leave. She very much wanted to hear what they were going to talk about, but she knew better than to stick around when she was ordered to go. Eavesdropping was also out of the question since they could undoubtedly sense her if she were anywhere close enough to hear their conversation.

Once she had left, Goku rested his hands on the table and looked over at Vegeta with seriousness usually only seen in battle. He had Vegeta's full attention. "I don't know if it's anything to be concerned about or not, but it's been happening a lot lately. I'll go to a planet where I feel a huge energy, but when I get there no one is there. Usually, wherever I am is an old city or something. And the energy I feel, it disappears completely."

Vegeta's expression did not betray his interest. "Perhaps it is someone who uses the same technique as you to jump planets and stay ahead of you."

Goku shook his head. "I don't think so. The cities I see – I guess they're cities anyway – look like no one's lived there for years. They had to have been destroyed a long time ago."

"I didn't say the energy you felt was behind the destruction of the cities."

"Why would someone be going from one destroyed place to another?" Goku reasoned. He sighed heavily and picked up a piece of fruit to stuff in his mouth while he mulled over his own question.

Vegeta shrugged and filled a cup with water to drink while they sat in silence. He didn't have any answers either, and though he was interested he wasn't convinced it was anything to be concerned about. Outside the palace he could feel Niparsa's ki spike as she raised her power to begin the kata he had taught her. He focused on her for a minute, assessing her growth in power since she had come to him a month ago.

"Here's another thing," Goku said, breaking Vegeta from his concentration. "I said that the cities were destroyed a long time ago, but the ones I've been to recently haven't been as old. They may have only been gone a few years instead of decades."

"So you think whatever killed those people might still be killing." Vegeta leaned his chair on its back legs and looked up at the ceiling.

"Well yeah, I guess." Goku frowned and rapped his fingers on the table. "The weirdest thing is, when I'm at those places, I don't see anyone, but I still feel like someone's there watching me even though I can't feel any ki."

"Ghosts?" Vegeta snorted.

Goku gave him a sullen glare. "Not funny."

Vegeta crossed his arms behind his head. "What do you want me to do about it, Kakarrot? I'm stuck here. It's not even in the same quadrant of the universe."

"I don't know. I just thought you might have some ideas about what's going on." As if remembering there was food to eat, Goku resumed gorging himself on all the strange foods Vegeta had brought from the pantry for him to eat.

"Why not ask the Supreme Kai about it?" Vegeta suggested.

Goku swallowed what he was eating without chewing properly and had to beat his chest to get it to go down. Gasping for air, he replied, "I already did, but he won't tell me anything."

Vegeta smirked. "Which means it _is_ something interesting."

The other saiyan mirrored his expression. "Exactly." He shoveled more food in his mouth.

The front legs of Vegeta's chair thumped on the floor as he leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. "You keep investigating, maybe you'll catch up to whoever's doing this. I'll see what I can pull out of the Kais. Who knows, maybe we'll get a real battle again."

Goku smiled around his food. "You bet."

That decided, both saiyans dug into the food with renewed energy, each wondering who might be responsible for the end of civilizations and who might be leading Goku around from planet to planet without ever showing himself. When they were finished they dumped their dishes in the sink and sat back down to digest.

"So who's the girl?" Goku asked.

"An idiot girl who found her way to the Lookout and asked me to train her." Vegeta raked his hand through his hair. "She has the potential to be a great warrior if she'd ever get over her foolish pride."

Goku's mouth twisted into a wry smile. "Sounds like someone I used to know."

Vegeta scowled at him and shook his head. "The irony is not lost on me. Regardless, I will make her the strongest so that she can protect the king. Right now the saiyans seem content to follow his rule, but I fear eventually someone will try to steal the crown from him, or take his son's place as the next king."

"You trust her?"

Vegeta turned his head to the side and shrugged. "She does not covet the throne."

"Oh." Goku stood up and stretched. "You don't think she'd want to spar with me, would you?" He grinned mischievously and ran out of the kitchen before Vegeta could reply.

Vegeta stood up. "Probably not." Shrugging, he headed outside to see if Goku could get Niparsa to agree to fighting him. Outside he saw Goku hopping from one foot to the other, impatiently waiting for Niparsa to make up her mind. Obviously he had already asked her to a spar and she wisely wasn't sure if she wanted to get herself into that. When she saw Vegeta come out she looked to him for help, but he offered no advice so she turned back to Goku and shook her head.

"I don't think I want to spar anymore today. I'm tired." She looked down at the ground, ashamed to have to turn down a fight with so pathetic an excuse, but she really was exhausted from her spar with Vegeta and if this other saiyan was even stronger she knew she didn't have it in her to last longer than a minute going up against him.

Once her decision was made Vegeta stepped forward. "There is no shame in turning down a fight with someone you know you'll lose to," he told her. As he predicted, she turned her chin up with eyes blazing.

"I know I'll lose? I could beat him!" She spat.

"Not a chance," Vegeta persisted. He could have goaded her into sparring with Goku, but he didn't want that. He walked around Goku to face him. "You see what I mean?"

Goku scratched his head. "Yeah, I think so." He laughed and pointed at Vegeta. "She's exactly like you used to be."

"And like me," Vegeta said, irritation lacing his tone, "she had better learn when to turn down a fight. As I said, there is no shame in declining a fight you _will_ lose. There is more shame in the loss." He gave her a pointed look before turning back to Goku.

"That doesn't make sense," Niparsa snapped. "To turn down a challenge is, well, it's weak."

"Not weak, girl. Smart." Vegeta sank into his fighting stance. "What say you to a spar, Kakarrot? Show this girl what true power is."

Goku smirked and took his own stance across from Vegeta. "Rules?"

Vegeta shifted his gaze to Niparsa and back. "No ascending."

"Aw, but Vegeta, that takes all the fun out of it!" Goku whined.

"What do you mean no ascending?" she interrupted.

"Remember when I told you the old legends have been lost?" Vegeta asked. He could feel Goku's power steadily rising as his excitement grew. His likewise started growing, his ki flowing into his muscles like tongues of fire.

"Yes…" Niparsa looked at the two saiyans with a brow raised.

Vegeta chuckled quietly. "We _are_ legend. What you are about to see is something no living saiyan has ever seen before, and you are never to speak a word of it to anyone as long as you live. You won't need to because you are also going to become legendary."

"What do you mean?"

Goku looked over at Niparsa as if studying her. "You think she has what it takes?"

"What _does_ it take, Kakarrot?" Vegeta slid his left foot back as he prepared to attack. "Strength alone?"

"So is ascending okay?" Goku asked, ignoring Vegeta's question.

In response Vegeta's ki flared and engulfed him in a blazing golden aura. Go and nodded, raising his power until he, too, was surrounded by amber flames. The force of their power hit Niparsa like a wall, knocking her onto her backside as if she weighed nothing. She gaped up at the two saiyans; they were the same, and yet they had changed so drastically. With cold teal eyes, larger muscles, and spiked gold hair, they were barely recognizable.

"What _are_ you?" Her voice was barely above a whisper. Their power was enough to give her a headache as it pulsed around her, crushing every one of her senses.

Vegeta fixed his gaze on her, making her feel exposed and pathetic as if he could see right through her. "Super saiyans. Legend."

"Are we going beyond the first level?"

Vegeta looked back to Goku and shook his head. "No need. I'll beat you without having to ascend to the next level." Both saiyans smirked and gave a mutual nod marking the start of the spar. In an instant they disappeared, remaining out of sight for the duration of their spar. Niparsa only knew they were there by the shockwaves and booms surrounding her on all sides. She pulled her knees to her chest and tried to turn off her ki sense, overwhelmed and afraid of what she felt. Legend. These saiyans were living legends, so ancient no one remembered their majesty, and she alone was witness to their greatness.

_A/N: Wow, has it really been over a year since I've updated this story? Sorry about the wait! I promise I'm not giving up on this story, or any of my stories for that matter. I simply haven't had the time or inspiration or whatever to write for, well, months, but I'm determined to get back into it if for no other reason than I need a break from reality. Life's been kind of rough and I need this. I do apologize if this chapter wasn't worth the wait; I know I've written better (I haven't even really edited this), but I want to get the plot moving forward on this; I've finally devised the perfect bad guys (which took about forever for this story) and I'm ready to start bringing them in. I've had Niparsa planned since I started this story, and originally I wasn't going to bring her in so soon but it seemed like a good time, especially since I haven't had any other ideas for so long. Well, thanks for reading and please review!_


	10. Strongest

Chapter 10  
Strongest

Vegeta growled, pouring more energy into his attack until he felt he would lose control. The ki flowing through his body burned like acid, but still he gave more, pushing his opponent to the brink of defeat. His body in its current state could hardly sustain the level of ki, but he was not going to make the transformation to super saiyan. Not unless he had to. This time he was going to achieve his goal, he was going to force her to surpass her limitations. He was not going to hold back any longer, and she was going to either meet his expectations or die.

He could hear Niparsa scream as she fell to her knees, still trying to hold off his Final Flash with every ounce of strength she possessed. Her power surged around her, as if trying to escape her body before it could be consumed by his attack. "Please stop!" she shrieked, terror tightening her throat and giving her words a tone of desperation he knew too well; it was the same tenure he had heard come from many opponents before her. This time, rather than bringing forth a sense of pride and triumph, he felt a pang of disgust with himself and hesitated in finishing her off.

He took a deep breath, casting aside his emotions, and with renewed vigor forced the last of his energy into his ki beam. He felt her defenses crumbling as he finally made significant headway toward her. She was not going to be able to hold him off much longer, maybe a few seconds, and then she would have to make a choice. It wouldn't be a conscious decision, one she would use logic to make; her body would decide for her. Either it would flip the switch or cave in defeat.

Vegeta could not see Niparsa through the blinding light, but he could feel her panic and hear her incoherent thoughts wailing in his mind. He tried to shut them out, but it was as if she was projecting her thoughts to him so loudly he could not block them completely, only succeeding in dimming them to intermingle with his own. Her fear coiled around his determination and for a second he thought he might lose the will to keep pushing, but at the same time he sensed her desperation, her _need_ to survive. That was what he was aiming for, what he was attempting to pull out of her, what he had to ignite within her by making her realize this time he would not ease up on her. It was a fight to the death this time. He was not going to yield.

"Stop!" she screamed, voice rough with fear and pain. In response, he pushed harder against her ki beam until it was nearly consumed by his own energy. "Can't you hear me? I can't take it! You'll kill me!"

"Then die!" he bellowed, finally overtaking her completely. There was an enormous explosion as he released his ki. Shielding his face with his arms, he turned away, not sure he wanted to see the results of his attack. Once the light had faded and the flying debris had settled, he turned back to the Lookout below and sighed. He dropped to the platform and reached out, lifting Niparsa's chin to look into her eyes.

There was a roaring fire of rage in her eyes, making them shine like sapphires in the sun. She snarled at him, her white canines almost like fangs. Her skin was hot to the touch, burning with the energy she was fighting to contain inside. He sank down to one knee in front of her as a smirk grew on his lips. "You're holding it back. Let it go."

Niparsa squeezed her eyes shut. "I – I can't." Her breath came out in shallow pants. "It hurts…Kami, what's happening to me?"

Instead of explaining, his mouth formed a hard line. "Release your energy."

Shuddering, she nodded subtly and pulled away from his hand. Her hands clenched and unclenched, scratching the crimson tile. She took one final breath and relaxed every muscle in her body, opening the floodgates that had held back her power. The rush of power was both so painful and invigorating she screamed and fell forward, barely managing to catch herself before her face hit the floor.

Vegeta stood up and stepped back, watching in fascination as her aura turned from a deep purple to a blazing gold. Her hair was almost white, the spikes turning up at the ends to defy gravity as her energy soared. Uncurling from her waist, her tail stretched behind her as the fur faded to white and bristled. She was magnificent.

Once her transformation had completed, she stood up and tilted her chin up to meet his gaze. Her muscles had hardly bulked up, but he could see a slight difference. She seemed taller, though there was really no difference. What he noticed more than anything was the snarl and the way her glare fixed on him.

"Don't even think of attacking me, girl," he said firmly. "I know you're angry. Furious. You hate that I pushed you to this and you want to kill me for it. But you would be wise to remember I'm still much stronger than you."

It seemed like hours passed before his words sank in and she nodded, unclenching her fists. "Does this mean I've done it?"

He smirked again, awakening a new anger in her chest. What did _he_ have to be so proud about? He had nearly killed her! "Yes, you have ascended to super saiyan. You will be the new legend."

Niparsa looked at her hands, turning them as if to see a sign of her transformation. Other than noticing more definition and more vivid color, she noticed no change. She allowed a small smile to tug at the corners of her mouth as her anger was replaced by pride. She had done it, she transformed and ascended! Now she was as strong as Kami!

Vegeta started chuckling, a low sound at first that grew until his whole body shook with his mirth and he roared with laughter. At first she thought he had gone insane. "Foolish girl, you have reached only a tiny fraction of my true power."

Her jaw went lax. "What? But – but I'm a super saiyan now too!"

"You may be stronger than me at the moment – maybe – but you could never begin to comprehend the fullness of my strength." To prove his point, Vegeta ascended to the first level, matching her power exactly. "To me, this is nothing."

Niparsa frowned, trying to elevate her power to prove she wasn't weak. She only succeeded in tiring herself out and nearly lost the transformation entirely. Growling in frustration, she threw her hands up and spun on her heel so she wouldn't have to face Vegeta in her shame. "Why have me ascend at all if it is so meaningless?"

Vegeta phased in front of her. "It is not meaningless, girl."

"I've spent three years training with you for this!" she yelled. "And now you tell me it's nothing!" She could feel tears stinging her eyes and fought them back. Her emotions seemed out of control, making her even angrier that she couldn't keep them in check.

"You wanted to be the strongest, did you not?" Vegeta said. "You have met your goal. Besides, it does not mean you will not continue to grow stronger simply because you have ascended for the first time. If you continue to train you will become stronger still."

Niparsa shrugged one shoulder. "I'm not the strongest. You are."

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "My strength does not matter. I am the Guardian of Vegetasei. I cannot fight for you and will not fight with you. Your strength, and the strength of all the saiyans, is all that holds meaning now. You _are_ the strongest, and you will use your power to protect the king."

She shook her head, rubbing her eyes with the backs of her hands. "It doesn't make sense. If I'm the strongest, won't the people want _me_ to be their leader?"

"Perhaps." Vegeta looked off in the distance, frowning slightly. "However, you will not take the king's place. You serve only to protect him and advise him as I have taught you. To do otherwise would incite my wrath."

Niparsa wrapped her arms around herself. "I didn't say I want to become the new leader. But I still don't get it. Why not make Daekon or his son the strongest? The king should be the strongest, shouldn't he?"

Vegeta snorted. "If there's one thing I've learned, it's that strength alone does not make a good leader. Can you imagine Kakarrot as king?" He shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Besides, I think it wise to have a loyal servant be stronger than the king. Not only to protect him, but to show all saiyans that the king is the undisputed leader regardless of physical power."

"I guess…that makes sense…" Niparsa suddenly felt light-headed. Before she knew what was happening, she fell down and blacked out.

…

The first thing she became aware of when she awoke was Vegeta's presence nearby. Her heart hammered in her chest when she felt his ki. A blush burned in her cheeks when she realized she had fainted. How embarrassing, to look so weak in front of him. He would never see her as a strong warrior if she kept making a fool of herself like that. She opened her eyes slowly, wincing when the light hit her and brought forth a pounding headache. Her vision blurred and she momentarily felt like she was going to fall into unconsciousness again, but she willed herself to stay awake and groaned.

As she sat up she felt like she had been torn limb from limb and burned alive. There were no other words to describe the aching in her body that worsened with every little movement she made. If this was what it felt like after… after ascending! She gasped and looked down at herself, expecting to see something out of the ordinary, but she was the same as always. Her vision was back to normal, and for a moment she was disappointed that she couldn't see with the clarity she had when she had been a super saiyan.

"You're awake, finally," Vegeta drawled.

Niparsa felt her heart skip a beat when she heard his deep voice. She blushed again and hid her face in her hands. "Yeah. What happened?"

She heard his boots tapping on the tile as he came closer to her. "Transforming for the first time is hard on the body."

"Oh." She dropped her hands to her lap and looked up at him. "I can't believe I really did it."

He scoffed, making her feel foolish all over again. "You thought I couldn't push you that far?"

She shrugged. "I guess I underestimated myself." Grunting in pain, she stood up and exhaled heavily. Her muscles were throbbing with the effort. She felt so weak and tired. "I don't even know what happened. It just felt like… I don't know."

Vegeta regarded her silently for a minute before turning toward the palace. "It's time to eat."

Niparsa frowned and followed him. What had she expected? For him to say how proud he was? Praise how strong she had become? Profess his love for her? She sneered and looked down at the floor. She hoped he hadn't been listening to her thoughts. If he had, she would never recover from the humiliation. When they reached the kitchen Vegeta sat down at the table and waited for her to bring food from the pantry. She resented being treated like a servant, but it was a routine they had developed the second day she had come to stay with him and it hadn't changed. She still got the food and washed the dishes afterward. At least he didn't make her cook, unless she wanted her food cooked. Half of what he ate was raw and the rest was cooked with a quick beam of ki.

She piled the food on the table and sat in the chair across from him, waiting for him to begin eating so she could start. It wasn't until she was sitting there that she realized just how hungry she felt. Her stomach growled loudly and she felt as if it was wrapping itself around her spine, gnawing on it from impatience. She watched Vegeta reach out and take a bite of a sweet-smelling fruit and immediately dug into the collection of meats she had chosen. By the time Vegeta finished eating she felt like she had hardly started to sate her own hunger.

To her surprise, Vegeta waited patiently for her to finish some time later. She guessed he had more to tell her, so when she was done she did not immediately get up to do the dishes. She rested her hands on the table in front of her and looked at him expectantly.

"Since you have reached your goal, there is no reason for you to continue training with me."

Niparsa hadn't expected that. It was so blunt and so…so sudden. She stared at him blankly for a minute before she was able to make any kind of response. "What do you mean? You said I still need to train."

"On your own," he said, as if that would clarify everything and make her okay with leaving the Lookout. Over the past three years it had become a home for her, though she knew she could never truly belong there. Hell, Vegeta hardly showed her any sort of concern, yet she had come to like him. Or more. She grabbed her napkin to fidget with while she thought about what he had said.

She sighed softly. "So you want me to leave immediately?"

"There's no reason to stay longer," he replied. She wondered how he could be so emotionless. So heartless. Hadn't he come to enjoy her company? He seemed so lonely when she first came. She was afraid he was reading her thought when she glanced up and saw him scowling at her.

"I'm sorry," she muttered. "Yeah, okay, I'll leave tomorrow, if that's all right?"

"Fine." He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "When you go, you must head directly for the royal palace. There you will meet with the king and request to be inducted into the royal guard. He will probably have you compete for the position. Once you are a member of the royal guard, you will serve your king as any other servant. Under no circumstances will you become involved with the king or his lineage as more than that. Nor will your children. Your line must remain separate from the monarchy, and you must remain the strongest. Your relationship to the king will be a precedent for future generations."

Niparsa ran her hand through her hair. "How can you be sure my line will remain the strongest?"

Vegeta smirked. "Because only you have trained with me and know my techniques."

"Yeah, that's true."

"One more thing: Never ascend during a full moon. You have not learned to fully control yourself as an oozaru, so you would not be able to control your power. The first super saiyan did this and his power completely consumed him. He was killed by his own energy." Vegeta stood up and walked to the door leading outside. "Now wash the dishes, girl."

Slowly, Niparsa pushed herself to her feet and looked around the kitchen. There wasn't much to miss, so why should she feel so depressed about having to leave? "Oh well," she sighed, picking up the dirty dishes and carrying them to the sink. "I got what I wanted, so he's right, there's no reason to stay longer." Sadly, telling herself this did not lessen the heavy feeling in her chest.

…

Niparsa stood outside the royal palace looking through the gilded gate. She wasn't sure how to get through; guards stood at either side of the gate eyeing her suspiciously, but so far they hadn't made a move against her. Probably many passers-by stopped to look in each day, so they were used to her awed expression and the way she nervously clenched and unclenched her fists. She swallowed back her anxiety and straightened her posture to give herself an air of dignity and confidence befitting anyone trying to see the king.

"I'm here for an audience with King Daekon," she stated boldly.

The guards looked her up and down for probably the fiftieth time in less than five minutes, then exchanged glances. Finally, the one on Niparsa's right spoke, "Have you been summoned by the king?"

Niparsa shifted her weight from one foot to the other before stopping herself from showing her nervousness. "No."

The guard who had spoken to her rolled his eyes as his hand moved to the impressive sword on his hip. "Then you are not permitted to enter."

Of course it wouldn't be so simple to enter the royal palace. Niparsa knew she couldn't expect to waltz right in without some official business, but there had to be a way to get in; after all, she had been trained for this, and this was the purpose given to her by Kami himself. Narrowing her eyes, she crossed her arms over her chest and raised her ki threateningly.

"I am here to request a position in the royal guard," she explained with a low growl.

The guards regarded her warily as the air around her seemed to warp and ripple with her growing energy. Waves of heat rolled off her as flames of ki flickered around her body. If nothing else, she figured, she could be arrested and taken to the dungeons under the palace, at least giving her entrance. She would figure out what to do from there.

The guards finally backed down, nodding as they moved to open the gate for her. "Very well, you may enter."

Surprisingly easy, she thought. Smirking triumphantly, she stepped through the gate and flicked a loose strand of hair back over her shoulder. Intimidation was a skill she had learned from Vegeta, though he had never made a lesson of it. He simply exuded intimidation at all times, and she had had ample time to observe and understand what it was about him that made her feel inferior and weak. Most notably, it was the atmosphere of power and disdain that always surrounded him, which was always heightened by his regal stance and burning gaze.

I am the strongest, she reminded herself. There is nothing to fear here; I will be inducted into the royal guard once I show my merit, and then I will begin the work Kami has planned for me.

Three years she had spent training physically and mentally. She had learned all there was to know about diplomacy, about saiyan pride and honor, and how to respect royalty even with superior strength. She had been shaped into the perfect advisor and guard for the saiyan king. All she had to do was show it to the king himself. No pressure.

…

After Niparsa left the Lookout, Vegeta heaved a long sigh. It wasn't a sigh of regret or loneliness, or even relief, but it felt like it came from the depths of his soul. Shaking his head, he walked to the edge of the Lookout and sat down to check up on the saiyans below. Still battling, always growing stronger, and nurturing their pride as a race. They were developing into the race of warriors he had always romanticized as a boy. They were strong and willful, and they lived by their own honor code. And now, as the king grew in strength, he took greater control of the people as a leader and any factions that opposed him lost power. Once Niparsa joined the royal guard, Vegeta was sure there would no longer be any revolutionaries able to overthrow the monarchy, and the saiyans would continue to grow as a people capable of great things.

What those great things were was the only question. Vegeta hadn't heard from Goku recently, but he could sense his fellow saiyan traveling through the galaxies, hopefully finding information about the strange disappearances of entire civilizations. As yet there hadn't been many leads to finding the ones responsible for the massive amounts of destruction, but surely something had to turn up eventually. Every day since Goku first talked to him about the mysterious genocides Vegeta had been itching to find the culprit and initiate battle; however, he knew he would not be a key player in the battle. His purpose was no longer to fight, but to lead silently. It frustrated him to know he would not personally fight, but he was eager nonetheless to see what the saiyans would do.

He stood up and walked around the perimeter of the Lookout, neither listening to the saiyans nor paying much attention to his surroundings. Vegeta was lost in his thoughts, imagining what sort of foe they were up against and wondering what information Goku had gathered or what the kais already knew and weren't telling him. For three years he had been waiting for some news, but none had come. Perhaps it was time for him to go looking on his own.

…

Goku crouched down and scanned the collapsing buildings around him. As usual there was no sign of life around him, but he still sensed there was _something_ there. It was the same feeling he got every time he found such a place as this, but he was still unable to accurately describe it. There was some sort of presence, and that was the best he could say. Definitely not something he could tell Vegeta without getting an earful of insults and berating. Honestly though, it wasn't his fault that he couldn't figure out what was going on. There simply weren't any clues to be found, and even if there were, he wasn't the best at putting pieces of a puzzle together. He stood up and stretched after a few minutes, now certain there were no enemies waiting to attack.

There hadn't once been an ambush, though he constantly felt threatened. He wasn't afraid, but he sensed a mal intent, almost a sort of feeling lingering long after the deceased had turned to dust. Assuming they turned to dust; that was another of the mysteries: he never found corpses, even in the most recently destroyed cities. It was as if the people had vanished without a trace, but he was sure they were dead, not just taken away.

Sometimes he felt as though his feet were heavy, or that they were being pulled on by hands in the ground. Of course that made no sense, and he never saw such hands or felt any traces of ki to signify life, but that was how it felt. He picked his way through the crumbling city, still looking for signs of a struggle, but all he saw was simple destruction, like whoever had done this came in and killed everyone first so there was no fight for survival.

After three years of the same thing, Goku was getting frustrated. He was tired of always being a step behind the enemy, and even more tired of not knowing _who_ or _what_ the enemy was. Could it be a single being? Or was it an entire army? How could it or they destroy so cleanly and so completely without even a single survivor anywhere? He stomped his foot and glared at the barren landscape.

"Where are you?" he shouted angrily. Someone was behind this, someone terrible and evil and powerful, and he wanted to find them and fight them.

…

Niparsa stood over her defeated opponent and rested her hands on her hips. It was almost too easy taking down the strongest of the royal guards, but that could only be expected after the training she received from Vegeta. She looked toward the king, who was sitting on the sidelines of the sparring grounds with several attendants standing around him. She had to admit, he looked kingly, with his chin tilted up proudly, his back straight and rigid, and his eyes piercing with wisdom and inner strength. Yet, despite all that, she couldn't help thinking he was not at all comparable to the guardian of Vegetasei.

Still, he was a handsome man, and serving at his side would not be unpleasant. She shook her head slightly to rid her mind of such trivial thoughts. Anyway, she was forbidden from intimate involvement with Daekon. Vegeta had made that clear over the course of her tutelage. When he raised his hand, the sign that she was accepted, she stood tall and proud and breathed a satisfied sigh. So far everything was moving according to plan. Now all she had to do was move up in the ranks until she was the most trusted of the royal guard. How hard could that be?

_Niparsa bowed before him, crossing her right arm over her chest in salute. She did not rise from her bow until she heard his grunt of approval. Her expression did not betray her pride as she looked into the bottomless black depths of his eyes. She had passed the test, which was simply to show the proper respect to the king._

_ "Am I ready yet, Kami?" she asked._

_ Vegeta grunted again, this time with the tone that told her "no." She grit her teeth, expecting him to explain to her what was wrong, but he said nothing to her. Finally, she shrugged it off and followed him when he turned to go inside to eat. Their morning lessons were completed. It was time to eat lunch, and then they would spend the rest of the day sparring, which was the only part of his teachings she actually cared about._

Niparsa remembered that moment with Vegeta as she bowed before King Daekon. She hadn't been ready yet at the time because she hadn't fully devoted herself to the crown. How Vegeta could tell she didn't ever know, but in her heart she was still only training for her own sake, to become the strongest saiyan with no real purpose. Since then, she had changed. Vegeta had taught her the importance of a stable and secure monarchy, and he had instilled in her a belief that Daekon was the best leader the saiyans could have. She hadn't been ready at the time; she had been foolish and self-centered, but she had grown since then.

She heard a grunt that sent a bolt of surprise through her and she rose from her bow, expecting to see the same obsidian eyes she had fallen into so many times before. This time, though, she looked into black eyes that lacked the pain and power she had come to know. These eyes were so much less intense there was no mistaking they did not belong to Vegeta.

"You have proven yourself a worthy warrior," Daekon said.

"Thank you, sire," Niparsa replied as pride burned in her chest. She was a warrior whose strength was acknowledged by the king. Probably he knew she had greater reserves of power not shown in her battle, but he still did not feel threatened. At least, he didn't show it. Instead, there was a sense of pure respect, which was all she had ever wanted.

Thank you, Kami, she thought, lifting her eyes to the sky. If you keep guiding me, I know I'll be able to do what you asked of me.

_A/N: Ok, so it's been over a year…again. Working two jobs and applying for graduate school has certainly kept me busy and I haven't really been writing at all. Sorry about that… I hope you haven't given up on me. I apologize for the quality of this chapter. Quite honestly, I'm not really happy with it, and I don't feel like it does much for the story as a whole, but I just really wanted to get something out there so you all know I'm not dead and/or I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth. I promise I haven't._


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